Pokemon Academy: Bonds of Amour
by TwoShiny
Summary: One day, Ash was in the Unova, and the next he was attending school in Kalos after a move to the region. It doesn't take long for him to develop feelings for his childhood friend Serena, but what happens when high-school drama comes along? Additionally, Ash discovers a secret about himself - that he's unique. What is this secret, and how will it change everything?
1. Chapter One: Destinies Collide

**August** **9th** **/** **Serena**

**There** **was** **nothing** **like** **waking** **up** **to** **a** **good** **old** **peck-attack** **to** **the** **forehead.** Serena sprang up from her bed from the momentary sting of pain and grumpily glared at Fletching - her mom's flying-type Pokemon that typically woke her up in this manner.

"Fletching! How many times do I need to tell you not to do that?" Serena complained

In response, Fletching simply landed on Serena's small table and blinked at her. Serena lunged at the Pokemon but missed as Fletching jumped on top of her head. She sighed and stayed in that position for a couple of moments until she heard the faintest sound of a vehicle come to a stop not that far away.

Serena got up and walked over to one of her windows, opening it up and peering out. It took her a couple of seconds to register the moving truck, with the bright sunlight bothering her eyes. From the looks of it, people were finally moving into the house across the street, which had been untouched for around a year now. She waited to get a look at her neighbors before going to meet them - which was inevitable, due to her mom.

First came out a boy about her age with brown hair and black eyes. He wore a purple sweater and black jeans, and over his shoulder he had a backpack slung. Serena took no particular interest in him; he just seemed like one of those troublemaker boys. Then, she did a double-take when another boy about the same age hopped out from the other side. Messy raven-black hair and brown eyes that she couldn't help but wonder if she had seen them somewhere before.

"Serena! Come on down!" Her mom called

"Coming!" She called back

She quickly threw on some clothes and walked down the stairs to be greeted by her mom, who was already standing at the doorway. She rolled her eyes, not expecting to already have to go and introduce herself to the new neighbors.

"Come on Serena, there's someone I want you to meet" Grace smirked knowingly

Serena raised an eyebrow at her strange behavior, but went along with it and walked with her mom across the street. The adult, who had obviously purchased the house, noticed them immediately and smiled as if she already knew them.

"Grace! It's been a while" She said

"It sure has. What brings you to the Kalos region?" Serena's mom replied

"Well, my son just returned from an adventure through the Unova region - his fifth adventure at that. We decided it would be nice to have a fresh start"

"Excuse me" Serena spoke up. "Your son has traveled through five different regions?"

"He sure has. Kanto, Johto, Sinnoh, Hoenn, and Unova"

Whichever one her son is, he seems pretty interesting, Serena thought to herself.

"Where is your son anyways Delia?" Grace asked

"He should be unpacking somewhere" 'Delia' said, turning around to face the house

From the inside, Serena could hear two voices arguing about something to do with food. One voice sounded kind of irritating, but the other one was smoother and sounded familiar. Could it really be him? No...

"I wish I could stay longer, but I have to head to Ryhorn training" Grace said

"No problem at all. In the mean time, Serena can come inside and meet my son and his friend" Delia replied, a knowing smirk appearing on her face - similar to the one her mom had earlier

Grace nodded and waved before walking away. Mom doesn't even have work today, what's really going on here? Serena asked herself. She followed Delia, who somehow already knew her name, inside and into the living room. The room was simple and looked pretty similar to hers, but the colors were different and seemed slightly bigger.

The voices - that were still in argument - were now louder and the feeling of familiarity increased as she approached them. She poked her head inside the kitchen and stole a better look at the two boys. The one she thought was familiar had his back to her, and the troublemaker-looking one was facing him.

"Hello?" Serena piped up

The two boys turned around, and Serena's heart sped up. Up close, her suspicions had been confirmed. It really was him - Ash Ketchum, the boy she had met as a young child, and her only friend back at Professor Oak's summer camp. The boy with brown hair looked in confusion between the both of them, who were staring at each other with no particular emotion on their face.

"I feel like I'm missing something" He said

Ash swallowed. "Serena?"

She stiffened. "Ash?"

After a few moments, they broke into a smile and approached each other. The brown-haired boy's confusion only increased as time passed on.

"W-What are you doing in Kalos?" She asked, bushing a strand of hair behind her ear nervously

"Good to see you too" Ash replied sarcastically. "Mom thought it would be a good idea to move here and get a fresh start"

"I didn't think you would remember me" Serena admitted, giggling

"Of course I remember you, Serena" Ash smiled

"Ok, what's going on here?"

"That's Gary, don't mind him" Ash dismissed

"Don't mind me?" 'Gary' repeated in offense. "Who is this Ash?"

"This is Serena - we met each other at Professor Oak's summer camp" Ash said

Serena waved. "Hey"

Gary narrowed his eyes and looked up and down at Serena. "Interesting... okay then, 'Serena', I'm Gary Oak - grandson of Professor Oak"

They shook hands. "Nice to meet you"

"Hey Serena, do you know where I could find someone to battle around here?" Ash asked

"I sure do" She confirmed

After lots of complaint from Gary's side, the trio set out to find a local battlefield where they could find a challenger. Ash caught Serena up on everything since the last time they had seen each other, and she was surprised to find out he actually had gone on so many adventures. It made her wish she could go on one with him - not only because she liked him in more than a friends kind of way - but because they also seemed fun. In return, Serena told the two everything they needed to know about Kalos and the school they would all be attending.

Currently, they were fifteen years of age and heading into the ninth grade. And it just so happened that Ash would end up challenging an upcoming twelfth grader that Serena had seen around - Jason Covenant. He was a couple of inches taller than them, and had black hair along with piercing black eyes.

His posture gave his confidence off as well as ever. Serena didn't know much about him besides his name, but he just looked like a challenging opponent. She and Gary took a seat in the stands and watched as Ash and Jason stood on opposing sides of the field.

"You look worried" Gary said. "But Ash is a great battler, trust me"

Serena let her face relax and watch on as the two released their Pokemon. Ash went first and sent out a Charizard that flexed and blasted fire into the air confidently.

"Normally Ash likes to battle with Pikachu when he first gets to a region, but he's resting at home" Gary said

Pikachu's a cute Pokemon Serena thought. So is Ash, but he's not a Pokemon...

As it turned out, Jason had his own Charizard - a black one, at that. Gary's eyes widened a bit at the sight. "A Shiny-Charizard!"

"I've never seen a black Charizard before" Ash said

Jason nodded. "You can have the first move"

"Charizard, use Flamethrower!" Ash began

"Cancel that out" Jason said

The two Charizard's coiled back their heads and charged up fire before releasing it in a massive Flamethrower. The two attacks collided at the center of the battlefield and struggled for dominance, until they cancelled out and exploded - causing smoke to cover the field.

"Use that smoke! Use Dragon Tail!" Ash continued

Charizard flew above the smoke and looked around for its enemy. A bright glow came from inside the smoke, and a different Pokemon emerged from out of the smoke - a purple Charizard with different features.

"What's that?" Gary asked as he quickly pulled out his notebook and a pencil

"Mega Evolution" Serena half-whispered in surprise. "I've never seen a Mega-Charizard that looked like that though"

Ash shook his head and cleared his thoughts as Charizard charged forward and attempted a Dragon Tail, but missed as Mega-Charizard dodged and hit him with a large Fire Punch - sending him crashing into the ground.

"Your Charizard is definitely stronger than mine, but with Mega-Evolution, your outclassed" Jason said

"Mega-Evolution?" Ash repeated slowly

"Ah, you must be new" Jason figured. "Charizard, use Dragon Claw!"

"Charizard, Flamethrower!" Ash defended

Mega-Charizard activated Dragon Claw and flew towards its counterpart; Charizard, still on the ground, fired off a powerful Flamethrower. The attacks clashed as Mega-Charizard crossed its arms and blocked it, eventually slashing its arms and separating the fire.

"Overheat Magnetron" Jason commanded

"You ever heard of that move?" Serena asked

"It must be a custom command for something else" Gary guessed

"Whatever it is, dodge it Charizard!" Ash instructed

A wave of fire sent Charizard stumbling back, and an aura of flames covered Mega-Charizard, who was currently charging up a Flamethrower.

Come on Ash, pull through Serena rooted in her head.

Mega-Charizard fired off a large blast of fire shaped like a star that was too quick for Charizard to dodge. It collided and an explosion of dust covered the entire battlefield - leaving the result unclear. Serena and Gary impatiently waited for the smoke to clear, but were relieved to see that Charizard had survived the attack.

"That's definitely a first" Jason said

"Are you alright Charizard?" Ash asked

The fire-and-flying-type nodded and stomped in place - ready to keep going.

"To the skies, Charizard" Jason resumed

"Chase him down and use Seismic Toss!" Ash exclaimed

Serena and Gary shield their eyes from the dust that arose from both Charizard's flying up into the sky so quickly. Mega-Charizard was faster and reached about fifty feet above the ground first. Charizard attempted to grab it, but it was too slow and was instead hit by another Fire Punch.

"Dragon Tail!" Ash shouted up

Charizard lunged again and landed a Dragon Tail to Mega-Charizard, but it didn't do too much more than make him stumble back. Both Charizard's lunged at each other and clasped palms, attempting to push the other back.

"That's a lot of brute force" Jason observed. "Charizard, Fire Punch to Blast Burn!"

"Dodge that Charizard!" Ash attempted

Mega-Charizard backed up and then hit Charizard with a massive Fire Punch that sent him rocketing towards the ground. Charizard quickly got up but Mega-Charizard was too quick and had already hit the ground, sending forth Blast Burn that crashed into it at full force. More smoke rolled in, but when it cleared this time, Charizard had been defeated.

"Thanks Charizard, you did great" Ash smiled and returned his Pokemon

Jason returned his own Pokemon, that de-mega-evolved before retreating into its ball. The two met at the center of the battlefield and shook hands, as per the custom.

"Mega-Evolution, huh? I gotta learn what that is" Ash said

"It's not as great as it looks, but if you've got a good enough bond, it can be pretty handy" Jason replied

The trio waved goodbye and decided on heading back to their houses so that Ash and Gary could finish their unpacking. Gary wasted no time in rushing up the stairs, but Ash sticked back with Serena at the front porch.

"I guess I'll see you around" Serena said, a bit disappointed. "School starts on Monday by the way, so in two days"

"Then I'll see you on Monday Serena" Ash smiled and Serena's heart fluttered. "I mean, unless you want to do something tomorrow. We haven't exactly seen each other in years after all"

"Um, sure, sounds good to me" Serena forced a smile, which was hard considering how nervous she was

Ash gave one last wave and entered his house. Serena sighed with relief as the door closed, and turned to walk back to her house, where she was greeted by her mom who was giving her a look that she didn't want to deal with.

"So Serena, what do you think?" She asked

"You knew, didn't you?" Serena replied

Grace smirked. "Is there something you want to tell me Serena? I couldn't help but notice the way you look at Ash"

Serena blushed. "W-What are you talking about?"

Her mom simply shook her head and retreated to the kitchen to make a cup of coffee. Serena stalked up the stairs and thought over what had just gone down. Ash is really in Kalos... There was no point in denying it - Serena had had a crush on Ash ever since they were young kids, but seeing him now only reinforced her feelings. Maybe, just maybe, she had a shot...


	2. Chapter Two: Not a Date

**Ash** **/** **August** **10th**

**Unova** **to** **Kalos** **had** **been** **quite** **the** **transition** **for** **Ash.** One week, he had been finishing up his adventure through Unova, and the next he found himself packing up for the Kalos region. Of course he hadn't complained either, his mom had definitely brought up some good points. School had definitely been something Ash didn't seem coming either, but he thought he would give it a try and explore the region on the side.

Most importantly of all though, there had been that old dusty book Ash had kept in his closet this whole time had discovered when packing up - Professor Oak's Summer Camp. It was in there where he was reminded of the straw-hat-wearing girl with the long honey-blonde hair. Coincidentally enough, he had found her in Kalos pretty quickly, and if that wasn't weird enough, he was living across the street from her. It almost like Arceus (or whoever controlled fate) himself wanted the two to reunite.

And that was how he found himself in his current situation - pacing around his room at ten in the morning. Pikachu eyed his trainer and best-friendly suspiciously, not knowing the reason for his troubles. There was no denying it for Ash, he was fifteen years old, and Serena was a really pretty girl. He was just at that age where he was starting to see girls as more than just the opposite gender.

_Should I just go and knock on her door or wait? What time are we going to go anyways?_ Ash thought to himself.

"Uh, are you alright Ash?" Gary asked, peaking his head into the bedroom

Ash paused and turned. "Yeah, I'm fine"

"The only time I've seen you like this is before a league. What's got you so nervous?" Gary inquired

"It's nothing really" Ash dismissed

Ash knew that Gary was probably the best person fit to help him with his current situation, but he decided that it wasn't worth the teasing and embarrassment to tell him.

"Suit yourself" Gary shrugged and made his way down the stairs

Later that day, around one and sometime after lunch, a knock came at the door. Already having been in the living room, Ash got up to go answer and was relieved to see Serena at the door.

"Hey Ash" She greeted, offering a small wave

"Hey Serena" He smiled back

"Are you ready to go? I was thinking I could show you around Lumiose City" Serena said

"I'm good to go" He confirmed with a thumbs up, just as Pikachu jumped up onto his shoulder

**.**

Lumiose City wasn't much of a walk from their houses. Ash was amazed to see the city at first - it was nothing like he had ever seen. It seemed a lot more sophisticated and technologically advanced, and there was definitely a lot of people.

"That's Prism Tower" Serena motioned over to a tall white and blue tower. "It's how you know you're in the center of the city. There's even a gym there for you to challenge"

"Look at that Pikachu, a gym! I guess we know where our first gym battle of the region is gonna be" Ash said

"Say, Ash, what kind of Pokemon do you have?" Serena asked

"Well I brought some over from back in Kanto. I could show you some of them later if you'd like" Ash offered

"Sure! That'd be great!" Serena accepted eagerly. "Though, if you do have three Pokemon on you, you could try and challenge the gym now"

Pikachu pumped his fist up and gave his trainer a confident look.

"I've got exactly three on me now" Ash grinned, ready for his first battle

The two entered the gym, passing some tubes that had lightning surging in then. The hallway was made of metal, and there was a green glow to it. They hit a pair of two metal doors with a monitor at the top of them, and when they got close of enough, they opened up and sprayed gas. Ash and Serena covered their eyes and walked through the gas, finding themselves inside Lumiose City's gym.

But, there seemed to already be a battle going on. On the far side of the field, a robot held a Pokeball and uttered commands, while directly in front of the two, a black-robed figure stood. The robot was battling alongside a Magneton, while the strange figure's companion was a Tyranitar, except it looked different, as if it had evolved again.

"Magneton, use Thunderbolt!" The robot commanded. Magneton charged up electricity and then fired off the powerful attack.

The robed figure waved his hand and Tyranitar quickly fired off a Dark Pulse. The two attacks struggled for a moment, until Dark Pulse completely overpowered Thunderbolt and charged through, colliding with Magneton in a large explosion. The smoke cleared, and Magneton was on the ground.

"Looks like Magneton has fainted. That means the victory is yours" the robot said, returning its fallen Pokemon and strolling over to hand the figure his badge.

Without speaking a word, the black-robed figure accepted the badge and returned Tyranitar. He turned and for a moment, Ash could make out the faint silhouette of a pair of eyes that stared back at him before the figure left the room.

"Who might you be?" the robot asked, facing the pair

"My name Ash from Pallet Town, and I've come for a gym battle!" Ash answered enthusiastically

"How many badges have you acquired thus far?" the robot questioned

"Well, this is actually the first gym I'll be challenging, so none yet" Ash replied

"I'm afraid that in order to challenge the lumiose City gym, you have to have acquired four gym badges" the robot informed

Though he hadn't gotten his gym battle, Ash was left wondering what was up with that Tyranitar he had seen from the strange figure. _But with Mega Evolution, you're outclassed _Jason's words came back to him.

"Sorry about that Ash, I didn't know you needed four gym badges" Serena apologized

"It's fine Serena, like you said, you didn't know" Ash shrugged. "But, would you happen to know anything about Mega Evolution?"

"Besides a couple of lessons in school, I don't know too much. I just know that it allows a Pokemon to temporarily evolve again in battle" Serena explained. "Apparently it requires two kinds of stones, and a strong bond"

"Cool. I hope we learn about that in school, and then maybe I could use it" Ash said

"Professor Sycamore is the leading researcher in Mega Evolution, and he's not only a teacher at the school, but the principal" Serena informed

Ash was about to reply before Serena suddenly grabbed his wrist and pushed him up against the wall of an alleyway. She put a single finger over her lips, which were dangerously close to his. His heart beat increased, and he watched as two people about his age walked past.

"Uh, Serena" Ash stammered

"Sorry about that, I saw some people I didn't want to run into" Serena said, thankfully backing up

The two continued on their way, stopping at several places so that Ash could get accustomed to the city, where he would most likely be coming to a lot. They entered a large mall and walked past different shops that sold your basic necessities.

Once again, Ash was about to talk, but was interrupted when a voice called out: "Serena?"

"Oh no" Serena sighed, stopping and turning around

Ash followed and turned to see the two people he had seen past them earlier. The one on the right was a girl with blue hair and brown eyes that almost looked strangely red, unless they actually _were _red - which would be pretty creepy. On the left, a boy with black hair and brown eyes.

"I thought I saw you earlier" the girl said as the two approached

"Um, hey you guys" Serena replied nervously

"Who's this?" asked the boy, pointing at Ash, his tone unclear

"This is Ash, he's new and he'll be attending school with us" Serena said, placing her hand on Ash's shoulder

"Hey there" Ash waved with a smile

"Ash, this is Miette and Calem" Serena introduced

'Calem' narrowed his eyes. "So Ash, would you happen to have any Pokemon on you?"

**Serena**

Just like that, the four teenagers had found themselves at the closest battlefield. Serena and Miette sat in the stands, while Ash and Calem stood on opposite sides of the field.

"So Serena, how'd you meet Ash?" Miette asked teasingly

"Well, we actually met a long time ago when we were kids in a summer camp, but then I moved and we haven't seen each other since yesterday" Serena said

"Childhood friends. How romantic" Miette chuckled

Serena blushed heavily. "W-What are you talking about?"

"Nothing" Miette shrugged. "Let's just watch the battle"

Pikachu hopped off of Ash's shoulder and landed in front of him. Calem pulled out a Pokeball and tossed it, the red laser revealing a Sandslash.

"Sandslash is a ground-type, and Pikachu is an electric-type, so Calem clearly has the advantage here" Serena said

"Calem _was_ the best battler back in school" Miette added. "I wonder if Ash is any good"

Serena still didn't know just how good of a trainer Ash was, besides what Gary had said. She hadn't really gotten a good measure, because the only time she had seen him battle, it was against a super powerful Mega-Charizard.

"You can have the first move" Calem offered

"Alright then. Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Ash began

"Sandslash, Dig!" Calem commanded

Pikachu was surrounded in an aura of thunder as it charged up its move, but before it could release it, Sandslash had already dug into the ground. Ash and Pikachu both waited, but it was helpless as the ground-type Pokemon exploded out of the ground and slammed into Pikachu - sending them both into the air.

However, Pikachu released Thunderbolt midair and electrocuted Sandslash. The two landed on the ground a couple of feet away from each other, having sustained equal damage.

"That did a lot of damage for it not being an effective move. Pikachu must be really powerful" Serena observed

"Use Poison Jab!" Calem continued

"Counterattack with Iron Tail!" Ash instructed

Sandslash's claws glowed purple as it charged forward, and Pikachu's tail seemingly changed into steel. Their attacks clashed twice, but Pikachu eventually landed his and knocked Sandslash back.

"Now use Quick Attack!" Ash pressured

"Dodge!" Calem attempted

Pikachu glowed white as he dashed forward, leaving Sandslash no time to dodge as he slammed into him and sent him skidding back across the ground. Sandslash was stubborn though, and lunged again, hitting Pikachu with a Poison Jab.

"Now use Headbutt!" Calem said

"Iron Tail!" Ash countered

Sandslash jumped forward, but Pikachu jumped up and rolled midair, slamming his tail down onto Sandslash's head, creating dust cloud that engulfed them.

"Now use Thunderbolt!" Ash said

Despite not being able to see his opponent, Pikachu charged and fired a Thunderbolt that reluctantly hit - the silhouette of Sandslash jittering around as it got electrocuted. Once the smoke cleared, Sandslash was heavily damaged, while Pikachu was feeling the affects of Poison Jab.

"Sandslash, Hyper Beam!" Calem exclaimed

"Dodge that using Quick Attack, and then counter with Electro Ball!" Ash quickly replied

Sandslash glowed silver season it charged up Hyper Beam, and Pikachu patiently waited for it to attack. Once it did, Pikachu activated Quick Attack and ran straight for the attack, jumping over it before it could hit and firing an Electro Ball. The electric ball of energy charged at Sandslash and collided, dust swallowing up the Pokemon.

Once the dust cleared, Sandslash had fainted. Calem looked surprised he had been defeated, but accepted it and returned his Pokemon, thanking it first. Ash and Pikachu celebrated their first win in the Kalos region, and the two trainers made their way back to their friends.

"Wow Ash, you won even though you had a type disadvantage. I'm impressed" Miette said

"Thanks. Me and Pikachu know just how to overcome type disadvantages" Ash replied, petting Pikachu who had returned to his shoulder

"Type don't matter, I won't loose next time" Calem assured

The group of four headed to the closest Pokemon Center so that Pikachu and Sandslash could be healed up. Afterwards, they exited and had to resume what they had been doing before. For Calem and Miette, that had been school shopping.

As Ash talked with Calem about something to do with battling, Miette pulled Serena in close and whispered: "Enjoy the rest of your date"

"I-It's not a date!" Serena denied frantically, waving her arms in front of her

"Whatever you say, Serena" Miette said

Though, Serena wouldn't mind going on a date with Ash. Not one bit...


	3. Chapter Three: A Lesson in Biology

**Gary** **/** **August** **11th**

**For** **someone** **like** **Gary,** **who** **wanted** **to** **become** **a** **professor,** **Kalos** **was** **definitely** **a** **unique** **region.** He had done his best to look into Mega Evolution, but there wasn't much surrounding the topic. While Ash had gone out yesterday, he had even tried to go out and find any trainers who used the power, but he couldn't find any, not even Jason.

It was strange because he had only recently found out he was going to be going to Kalos alongside Ash of all people. Even stranger: living with them. Though, it hadn't been bad so far. But if there was one thing Gary had noticed, it was Ash's strange behavior ever since they had moved here. More specifically, surrounding that cute girl that lived across the street, who he had supposedly met at a young age.

And it wasn't just him either. Gary was an expert on these things, and he could see the way that Serena looked at Ash. He would bet his Blastoise that she had a crush on him just based on that. Not to mention the nervous manner she spoke in towards him, and the way she played with her hair or fidgeted with her hands. If there was one thing Gary had in mind, it was getting to the bottom of this.

Those are the events that led up to August 11th, one in the afternoon. Ash, Serena, and Gary were walking the streets of Lumiose City after a nice lunch. Both Ash and Gary agreed that the food here in Kalos was amazing. And apparently, their school was suppose to begin the next day - August 12th, Monday.

Even though Gary had assembled this trip to study Ash and Serena's relationship, he found himself more on the lookout for Mega Evolution-wielding trainers while the two talked in the background.

"So Ash, have you entered into a league before?" Serena asked

"I've entered into five of them, one for each region I travelled, but I haven't won yet" Ash answered. "Doesn't mean I'm going to give up though"

"The Kalos League is suppose to be one of the hardest leagues in the world, but with some training, I think you have a shot" Serena said

Gary spotted an Ampharos battling a Jolteon on a battlefield out to their left. They exchanged electric-type attacks, neither being able to gain an edge on the other.

"Remember Calem? He's already beaten all eight gyms already. I got to see him do it, so I could show you where the gyms if you want me to" Serena offered

"That would be great, thanks Serena" Ash replied

Over on the right, a Rhyperior was battling a Dragonite, who despite being able to fight, was having a hard time against the powerful ground-and-rock type.

"Santalune City, huh? I guess I could try going next weekend" Ash figured

"I heard it's where most people in Kalos go for their first gym battle" Serena said

Up ahead, a Pinsir was battling a Pokemon that Gary had never seen before. It looked like a fox and stood on two legs, holding a tree branch that was on fire.

"I think you should have plenty of time to travel the region over the weekends and breaks" Serena nodded her head

"That's great. I can't wait to see what the rest of Kalos is like" Ash said

They passed by another battlefield where an Empoleon was battling a black Charizard that flew around in the sky, dodging water-type attacks and unleashing powerful fire-type ones. Gary had to a double-take when he realized he had found what he was looking for. He paused and gripped Ash's shoulder.

"What's wrong Gary?" Ash questioned

Gary pointed to the battlefield not too far away. "It's the Mega Charizard again! I've been looking for it. Now we can find out more on Mega Evolution"

The trio walked over to the field, where the battle was just coming to an end. Empoleon fired off a Hydro Pump and Charizard curved around it, getting in close and landing a final pointblank Flamethrower that finished the battle.

"Thanks Empoleon, you were great" the opposing trainer said

Gary waited impatiently for the customary handshake and compliments before rushing over to challenge Jason.

"You! I-I got to battle that Mega Charizard" Gary said, panting and pointing at Jason

Though Charizard was battle injured, he insisted on battling against Gary, so the two trainers took positions on the battlefield while Ash and Serena sat in the stands.

"Go Blastoise!" Gary announced, tossing his Pokeball which released the water-type Pokemon

"Let's hope you're good enough" Jason said. "Go ahead and have the first move, we're waiting"

"Blastoise, Hydro Cannon!" Gary began

"Flamethrower" Jason countered

Blastoise stepped forward and fired a blast of water from each of its cannons. Charizard huffed and fired off a Flamethrower that canceled out the blasts, creating smoke in the center of the field.

"Rapid Spin!" Gary pressured

Using the smoke to its advantage, Blastoise entered its shell and began to spin at a high acceleration. It launched itself forward, slamming into Charizard with enough force to clear the smoke.

Charizard predicted its trainer's counter and lunged, hitting Blastoise in the center of its chest with a massive Fire Punch that send it sliding back.

"That Blastoise does a lot of damage, I've never seen a Rapid Spin so powerful. I'm afraid we'll loose if we don't keep up" Jason said

"I've been waiting for this" Gary said under his breath

Jason placed two fingers on a silver wristband that he wore. "Break those limits Charizard. Mega Evolve!"

Four beams of energy shot out of a band on Charizard's tail and merged with four coming from the wristband. Charizard roared as a glow of multicolors encased it, and its features began to change until the colors exploded off it, revealing the purple Mega Charizard.

"Charizard actually has two different Mega Evolutions" Jason informed. "This would be Mega Charizard Y"

"So can Blastoise Mega Evolve?" Gary asked

"We lost to the last Blastoise we faced - a mega evolved one. It means we've got a score to settle" Jason replied

"Let's give it our all Blastoise. Use Hydro Pump!" Gary resumed

"Dodge and use Dragon Claw" Jason instructed

Mega Charizard soared up into the air just as Blastoise fired Hydro Pump, but the attack followed it and hit Charizard, surrounding it in smoke midair. That wasn't enough to take it down though, and the beast flew out of the smoke, hitting Blastoise with two Dragon Claw.

"Fire Punch" Jason continued

"Dodge that with Rapid Spin and then attack with Skull Bash!" Gary said

Blastoise entered its shell again and picked up speed, moving out of the way just before Charizard could attack. It spun around the fire-and-flying-type before slamming into it from the back. Blastoise exited its shell and then lunged, hitting it in the back again with Skull Bash.

Charizard shook the pain off and jolted around, lunging at Blastoise and bear hugging it before taking off into the sky. Gary watched as Charizard stopped midair and tossed his Pokemon up. Mega Charizard flew higher than it tossed Blastoise and cupped its fists together, slamming them down and hitting the water-type, sending its crashing into the ground.

Gary waited for the smoke to clear, and was relived to see Blastoise was still alright when it did.

"You seemed pretty eager to fight Charizard. Why is that?" Jason asked

"I want to learn everything about Mega Evolution, considering I want to become a professor just like my grandad" Gary answered

"Mega Evolution requires two stones, a Key Stone and a Mega Stone, with the ladder requiring it to be for that specific Pokemon. For Charizard, that's either Charizardite X or Y. Blastoise uses Blastoisinite. You'll also need a strong bond, or the evolution can't occur" Jason explained

"Then me and Blastoise will find those stones and do our own Mega Evolution" Gary said

"Good for you, but our Pokemon look like they want to finish this" Jason pointed out

Gary nodded. "Blastoise, Rapid Spin!"

"Charizard, Blast Burn"

Blastoise once again entered its shell and charged forward, spinning at a quick speed. An aura of fire surrounded Charizard as it smashed the ground with its fist, sending Blast Burn, which collided with Blastoise and forced it out of its shell. Mega Charizard lunged and uppercutted its enemy with Dragon Claw before using its other hand to land a Fire Punch.

Seeing its opponent could still stand, Charizard flew up into the sky with its fire aura still around it. A spiral of flames shot up from the ground and hid Mega Charizard from view.

Now what's going on? Gary though to himself.

Suddenly, the spiral of fire began to charge forward.

"Dodge it Blastoise!" Gary quickly said

Blastoise utilized Rapid Spin to quickly traverse the battlefield, but the tornado of flames was fast as well and eventually hit it, colliding and causing an explosion of smoke. This time when the smoke cleared, Blastoise had been finished for good.

"Thanks Blastoise, that was really good" Gary said, returning him to his Pokeball

"If you want to learn more about Mega Evolution, you should probably head over and talk to Professor Sycamore" Jason advised

Ash, Serena, and Gary followed through and decided to make their way to Professor Sycamore's lab, interested in Mega Evolution. Gary couldn't stop thinking about how Blastoise had a Mega Evolved form waiting for him and his Pokemon to unlock.

It was some interesting Biology, but right now Gary felt as if he was watching Chemistry as Serena tried her best to talk to Ash without blushing or stuttering.

"So you don't have a Pokemon yet?" Ash asked

"Not yet. I was hoping to pick one from Professor Sycamore, so I might as well get to that while we're here" Serena said

"Do you know who you're going to choose?" Gary inquired

"I do" Serena nodded

Thankfully, Professor Sycamore's lab wasn't too far away. They arrived and knocked at the door, not having to wait too long until a man opened the door in a white lab coat - presumably the man himself.

"Welcome! How many I help you?" he said

"We were hoping to learn a thing or two on Mega Evolution" Gary said

"And If you don't mind, I'm ready to choose my first Pokemon" Serena added

"No problem at all, we can't get to both of those"

Inside, it was definitely the best lab they had seen. Rows of bookshelves, most likely research, lined up the walls, and two stairways led up to the same balcony that overlooked them. They waited in the lobby until Professor Sycamore returned, bringing three Pokemon with him.

"So these are the starters from Kalos" Ash said

"The fire-type Fennekin, water-type Froakie, and the grass-type Chespin" Sycamore announced

Serena knelt down and examined the tree of them closely, but she was more focused on one of them in particular. "This was a really hard choice, but I kind of made up my mind a while ago. Fennekin, will you be my partner?"

"Fenn!" It agreed

Afterwards, the trio followed Professor Sycamore into a different room with a lot of computers and papers scattered across them.

"We still don't know too much about Mega Evolution besides the basics. The first thing you need is a Keystone, which aren't too hard to find. The difficult part is finding the Mega Stone for the corresponding Pokemon that you want to Mega Evolve" Sycamore said, walking over to a black machine where a shiny orb rested. "Currently, we have this. It's a Sceptilite"

"Cool! So Sceptile can Mega Evolve" Ash said. "Too bad my Sceptile is still back in Kanto"

Professor Sycamore educated the trio on everything known about Mega Evolution so far, but they found that it was getting a bit late so they thanked him and went on their way back.

"Man, Blastoisinite seems like its going to be a difficult find" Gary complained

"I'm sure you'll find it eventually" Ash assured

Suddenly, from somewhere off to their right, something hopped over Gary's head and landed next to the trio.

"Hey! That's my hat!" Ash said, pointing at the Froakie that had jumped over them

"Wow, a Froakie" Serena said

Froakie quickly turned and took off, leading the three trainers on a chase for around two minutes until they hit Prism Tower, where Froakie dropped the hat and abandoned the scene.

"Oh man, what was that for" Ash knelt down to pick up his hat, catching his breath

"I don't know, but that Froakie can run" Gary wiped sweat off his forehead

Off to their left, a large explosion went off, catching their attention. Deciding to check it out, they rushed over and found themselves at a battlefield where a strange Blastoise was battling an Aerodactyl that looked strangely spiky. The trainer commanding the Aerodactyl was familiar to Ash and Serena - a black-robed figure.

"It's him again" Serena said. "I guess it _was_ a Mega Tyranitar"

"And that would be a Mega Aerodactyl" Ash added

"But look at that Blastoise!" Gary exclaimed. "It's got three cannons, just like what Professor Sycamore described. A Mega Blastoise..."

"So that's what a Mega Blastoise looks like in person" Ash said

Aerodactyl swooped around a Hydro Pump and fired off a finishing attack, knocking out Blastoise who reverted back to normal. Its trainer returned it to its Pokeball, and the robed figure returned Aerodactyl, walking away without a word. Gary wasted no time in rushing over to the trainer who had fought with the Blastoise.

"Would that happen to be a Mega Blastoise?" Gary asked him

"It would" he confirmed

"Where'd you find the Blastoisinite for it?"

"There's competitions in Lumiose City where you can win a Mega Stone. I won the Blastoisinite earlier from one of them" the trainer informed

"Man, I missed it!" Gary said

And like that, Gary had a new goal in mind - find a Keystone and a Blastoisinite to use Mega Evolution.


	4. Chapter Four: Something New

**August** **12th** **/** **Serena**

**Just** **like** **that,** **the** **day** **had** **finally** **arrived** **-** the first day of ninth grade. Serena was the kind of person who was all for first impressions, so finding some school clothes was somewhat difficult. After a bit, she decided on a black shirt, a red skirt and a pink hat with a black headband around it.

She grabbed her Pokeball that contained Fennekin and made her way down the stairs, saying goodbye to her mom before exiting the house. Across the street, Ash and Gary were coming out at the same time.

"Hey Ash!" She called out, waving

"Hey Serena!" He replied

The three met in the center just as planned and let Serena lead the way to school, which was about a ten minute walk away.

"So which Pokemon did you guys bring?" Serena asked

"I have Pikachu of course," Ash pointed to his partner on his shoulder, "and two of my other Pokemon - Infernape and Torterra"

"I heard that we'll be having an assembly on the first day, and that some people at random are going to be chosen to battle in front of the entire school" Serena informed

"Wow, I hope I get chosen" Ash said

"Same here, I need to show everyone who's the best battler in school" Gary pointed a thumb at himself. "Who knows, maybe we'll battle each other"

"In that case, I'll win" Ash confidently stated

"Pika!" Pikachu added

By now, Serena knew that Ash and Gary were great battlers, but she was worried what would happen if they were to go up against someone like Calem. Ash had already beaten Calem before, but that was against one of his weaker Pokemon. His strongest Pokemon was powerful in its own right.

"So Serena, do you know anyone else that's going to school with us?" Ash asked

"Well, there's Miette and Calem, but I can introduce you guys to my other friends as well" Serena answered

Before they knew it, they had arrived at Sycamore Academy. The school was awfully big, and they knew it would take some getting used to before they would know how to get around the place. They entered through the doors and followed maps on the wall until they entered a large dome shape room with a battlefield in the center. Students were beginning to gather, and some were already sat down, so they knew they were in the right place.

"Serena!" a familiar voice called out

She turned and saw her closest trio of friends - Shauna, Trevor, and Tierno - approaching them.

"Hey guys!" She replied

"Long time no see, you sure have been busy" Tierno said

"I guess Rhyhorn training caught up with me" Serena rubbed the back of her head

"Who are these Serena?" Trevor asked, pointing behind her

"This is Ash and Gary" Serena said, pointing at each of them. "And this is Shauna, Trevor, and Tierno"

After basic introductions, the group took a spot in the stands and were joined by Calem and Miette not long after. They watched as Professor Sycamore took the stage in between the stands and approached the microphone.

"Welcome students! It's great to see so many new faces and some old ones too. We hope you all will enjoy this school year, because we have a lot of interesting opportunities coming up. Firstly, we'd like to kick it off with not one, but two one on one battles, where the combatants will be chosen at random. The winner of those battles will then go and battle each other"

Up on the large screen above Professor Sycamore, a shuffling motion played and two names were pretend on the board - Calem and Jason.

"I guess I'm up" Calem said, standing up

"Good luck" Serena said

"Jason?" Gary asked. "As in the one with the Mega Charizard?"

"Mega Charizard?" Trevor replied

Sure enough, it was who they thought they were. Calem and Jason stood on opposite sides of the battlefield, pokeball in hands. Of course Serena knew how powerful that Mega Charizard was, but Calem was also a really good battler and wouldn't go down without a fight.

"This will be a one on one Pokemon battle! Once either Pokemon can no longer continue, the match will end, and the winner will move onto the next round. Trainers, bring out your Pokemon!" the ref said

"Go Tyranitar!" Calem said, while Jason simply tossed his Pokeball and released the black Charizard

"What a cool match up" Tierno said

"Wow! A black Charizard! I've never seen one like that before!" Trevor exclaimed, taking ahold of his camera and taking a picture

"Let the match begin!"

"Tyranitar, use Dark Pulse!" Calem began

"Charizard, Fire Punch" Jason countered

Tyranitar backed up and fired a Dark Pulse that shot straight at Charizard, whose fist began to radiate with fire. Charizard charged straight at the fact and punched all the way through it, and then rocked Tyranitar with Fire Punch.

"Now use Stone Edge!" Calem said

Charizard attempted to move out of the way, but Tyranitar was quick and summoned up stone columns that smashed into him, sending him flying back.

"Use Flamethrower" Jason attacked

"Stop that with Thunder Fang!" Calem defended

The temperature in the dome increased as Charizard charged up his attack. He released it at full force, but Tyranitar was able to stop it using Thunder Fang to bite the attack.

"Giga Impact!" Calem commanded

"Stop that using Blast Burn" Jason instructed

Despite his size, Tyranitar was surprisingly quick as he charged forward. Charizard timed it and jumped over him, landing behind him and hitting the ground, sending a Blast Burn that hit the Pokemon and created a smoke cloud around it.

Not long after, a Dark Pulse shot out of the smoke and collided with Charizard, dealing good damage. Tyranitar emerged from the cloud of smoke and shook off the damage, ready to keep going.

"Calem's Tyranitar can take a hit" Ash observed

"He's a really powerful trainer" Shauna said

"I bet I could beat him though" Gary folded his arms across his chest

"Stone Edge!" Calem resumed

"Destroy it with Dragon Claw" Jason replied

Tyranitar roared and more columns of stones shot up from the ground. Activating Dragon Claw, Charizard charged forward and cut through each of them.

"Giga Impact, quick!" Calem exclaimed

Using his opponents momentum, Tyranitar lunged and smashed into Charizard using Giga Impact, making him stagger back in pain. Without a command, Tyranitar shot a Dark Pulse that added on more damage. Smoke from the collision swallowed up Charizard and left him out of view.

"Charizard's on the ropes" Ash said

"He's taken a lot of damage, while not having done so much to Tyranitar" Tierno added

"Hey Serena" Miette whispered and she hummed in response. "Make any progress with Ash yet?"

Serena instantly blushed. "W-What?"

"Are you alright Serena?" Ash asked, noticing the engagement

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine! All good!" Serena quickly assured and Miette suppressed a laugh

"Is that all you got?" Calem asked

Jason chuckled. "If you want to up the difficult, then that's fine by me"

Charizard roared as Jason tapped his wristband, and the Mega Evolution occurred, transforming the Pokemon into Mega Charizard Y.

"Mega Charizard!" Tierno and Trevor both exclaimed

"Dark Pulse!" Calem commanded

Tyranitar stepped forward and fired another Dark Pulse, to which Mega Charizard flew up into the sky to avoid it. Charizard activated Fire Punch and flew straight towards the ground, hitting the dark-and-rock-type straight in the face with the attack.

"Use Giga Impact!" Calem pressed

Charizard flew to the side to avoid Tyranitar's lunge and then hit him with another Fire Punch to the hip - clearly a weak spot. Tyranitar stumbled back and nearly fell forward from the massive amount of damage.

"Max power Fire Punch" Jason instructed

"Stop that with Giga Impact at full power!" Calem replied

An aura of fire surrounded Charizard's fist, and it began to burn so hot that the color of the flames shifted from red to violet. The two Pokemon lunged at each other, but Mega Charizard extended out his fist and hit Tyranitar first. Time seemed to stop as the powerful Fire Punch hit Tyranitar in the chest. The crowd watched as Tyranitar was sent crashing into the wall behind Calem, fainted.

The ref announced the winner as Mega Charizard roared with victory and the crowd cheered. Calem's facial expression didn't change through it all, and he simply returned Tyranitar and thanked him. The two battlers made their way back to the stands, and two more names appeared on the screen: Ash and Tierno

"Looks like you're up Ash" Serena said

"And I'll be going against you" Tierno pointed out

"Good luck to both of you" Shauna said

The two combatants made their way down to the battlefield and stood on opposite sides while the ref stated the rules. Pikachu jumped down from Ash's shoulder and readied himself on the battlefield; Tierno released his trusty Squirtle.

"Ash has a type advantage" Trevor said

"Tierno isn't a pushover though" Calem reminded

"Let the match begin!" the ref declared

"Pikachu, use Quick Attack!" Ash began

"Use Rapid Spin!" Tierno countered

A white glow surrounded Pikachu as he dashed forward in a zigzag pattern. Squirtle entered his shell and began to spin really quick before launching itself forward and slamming into the electric-type.

"Now use Water Gun!" Tierno continued

"Stop that with Thunderbolt!" Ash defended

Squirtle opened its mouth and sprayed water at Pikachu, who charged up electricity and fired a powerful Thunderbolt. The attacks clashed, but the electric-type move coming from Pikachu was more powerful and went through, electrocuting Squirtle.

"Iron Tail!"

"Aqua Tail!"

Both Pokemon charged at each other and their tails clashed, knocking them both back.

"Electro Ball!" Ash commanded

"Dodge using Rapid Spin!" Tierno said

Pikachu jumped into the air and preformed a summersault before launching an Electro Ball from its tail. Squirtle entered its shell again and spun, moving out of the way.

"Skull Bash!" Tierno added

Squirtle exited his shell and boosted forward, slamming its head against Pikachu and sending him back to Ash's side of the field.

"Squirtle's really agile and fast" Gary observed

"Tierno likes to train his Pokemon with his 'rhythmic battling style'" Miette informed

"Pikachu, use Quick Attack and Iron Tail!" Ash combined

"Stop that with Aqua Jet and Skull Bash!" Tierno instructed

Once again glowing white, Pikachu dashed forward with his tail becoming made of steel. However, Squirtle launched himself using Aqua Jet, and combined with Skull Bash, slammed into Pikachu with enough force to nearly end the fight. Pikachu landed in front of Ash with a cloud of dust and struggled to get back up.

"Are you alright Pikachu?" Ash asked

"Pika!" Pikachu assured, ready to keep going

"Wow, that's a strong Pikachu, Ash. I'm impressed" Tierno said

"I could say the same for you"

The two exchanged a friendly but competitive smile before resuming the fight. Tierno commanded for Squirtle to use Rapid Spin, and Ash countered by telling Pikachu to slam Iron Tail into the ground in front of the water-type. The rubble and the force of impact made Squirtle exit his shell and take damage.

"Thunderbolt!"

As Squirtle was still midair, Pikachu fired a strong Thunderbolt and electrocuted him.

"You okay Squirtle?" Tierno inquired

Squirtle nodded his head and readied himself again. By now, the crowed watched with a certain tenseness, not sure who would win the fight, as both Pokemon were equally damaged.

"Use Aqua Jet to Rapid Spin!" Tierno exclaimed

"Wait for it Pikachu" Ash said. Squirtle entered his shell and boosted himself forward with Aqua Jet while beginning to spin with Rapid Spin. "Now! Use Quick Attack to go over it and then use Thunderbolt!"

Just before Squirtle could land his attack, Pikachu used Quick Attack and jumped over him, turning midair and firing another Thunderbolt that shocked Squirtle and created an explosion of dust.

The dust cleared and the ref cleared his throat. "Squirtle is unable to battle! The winner is Pikachu! Therefore, Ash moves into the next round!"

"That was great Ash. Looks like Squirtle and I still have some training to do" Tierno said as he retuned his Pokemon, thanking him after

"It'd be great to have a rematch another time then" Ash responded

Nodding, Tierno made his way back to stands, and Jason rejoined the battlefield on the opposite side of Ash. The ref stated the rules and the two trainers pulled out a Pokeball.

"Go Torterra!" Ash said, throwing his Pokeball forward and releasing one of his grass-type starters

As usual, Jason spoke in no words in releasing his Pokemon - Hydreigon.

Good luck Ash, Serena thought as the rematch between the trainers began.

"Let the match begin!"

"Dragon Pulse!" Jason started

"Block that with Hidden Power!" Ash defended

Hydreigon's middle mouth opened up and fired Dragon Pulse. Three large chunks of rock rose up from the ground and launched forward, two of them intercepting Dragon Pulse midway and stopping it in an explosion of dust. The third one nearly hit Hydreigon, but it used Fire Fang to stop the attack.

Serena and her friends watched as the two Pokemon stared each other, each ready to give it their all. Though, they had no idea who was going to win this fight.


	5. Chapter Five: Scheduled

**Serena** **/** **August** **12th**

**What** **made** **the** **battle** **in** **front** **of** **her** **even** **more** **interesting,** **was** **that** **fact** **that** **she** **had** **never** **seen** **either** **of** **these** **Pokemon** **before.** Serena brought out the Pokedex she had received from Professor Sycamore and used its to scan Hydreigon first.

"The heads on their arms do not have brains. They use all three heads to consume and destroy everything, and It responds to movement by attacking" it explained

"How strange, but totally cool!" Trevor exclaimed, taking a picture of the Pokemon

"What about Ash's?" Tierno pointed towards Torterra

Serena moved her Pokedex off towards the right where Torterra had just used Energy Ball to block an incoming Dragon Pulse. Though the Pokemon was hidden by the smoke of the attacks' impact, the Pokedex picked it up.

"Ancient people imagined that beneath the ground, a gigantic Torterra dwelled. Small Pokémon occasionally gather on its unmoving back to begin building their nest"

"How interesting" Serena said

"Ash sure does seem real interesting" Miette said, giving the trainer down below on the battlefield a look that Serena didn't like

"Hydreigon, Stone Edge" Jason commanded

"Torterra, use Rock Climb!" Ash quickly countered

The ground shook as Hydreigon roared, and multiple columns of stone shot forward from underneath it. However, Rock Climb summoned a single large and tall pillar of stone that destroyed the columns and hit the dragon-and-dark-type Pokemon. Then, despite its mass, Torterra launched itself off the ground and used one of its feet to hit Hydreigon before landing back on the ground with a large thud.

"Giga Impact" Jason said

A faint white glow light up Hydreigon as he faced down towards the ground where Torterra had landed. He roared and charged forward rapidly.

"Dodge and use Leaf Storm!" Ash instructed

Perfectly timed, Torterra jumped forward and caused Hydreigon to smash into the ground at full force. Torterra then turned around and fired Leaf Storm - a blizzard of sharp leaves - that shot forward and hit Hydreigon, setting off an explosion that blinded the field in smoke. Not long after, a Dragon Pulse shot out of the smoke and collided with Torterra, adding to the smoke.

Once the smoke cleared, both Pokemon had scratches on them, but Hydreigon more so; the two Pokemon were on the opposite trainer's side of the field.

"Use Fire Fang!" Jason continued

"Stop that with Energy Ball!" Ash exclaimed

All three pairs Hydreigon's teeth burnt up, surrounded in aura of fire as the Pokemon charged forward. Torterra opened its mouth and conjured up a green Energy Ball that it shot forward. Using its middle head, Hydreigon bit the attack and destroyed it before ruthlessly attacking Torterra with the Fire Fang on its two arm-heads.

"Torterra, use Rock Climb again!" Ash said

A diagonal column of stone shot out of the ground and hit Hydreigon at full force, sending it flying back towards the other side of the field. Torterra climbed up the column of stone and launched into the air, hitting Hydreigon with ones of its feet.

Just as Torterra landed on the ground, Hydreigon shot a Dragon Pulse that collided with its back and nearly knocked it down on its stomach.

"Now finish it with Giga Impact" Jason said without a second thought

"Ancient Power!" Ash commanded last second

Two large rocks rose up from the ground and smashed into Hydreigon, stopping him midair and surrounding him in dust that sprinkled the battlefield.

"Now use Energy Ball!" Ash pressured

Torterra looked up towards the sky, where his opponent had just emerged from the smoke; he fired an Energy Ball, and it collided with Hydreigon again, hitting with a massive force. The crowd waited in anticipation, and was surprised to see that was as much as Hydreigon could take as it dropped to the ground, swirls in its eyes.

"Hydreigon is unable to battle! The winner is Torterra, which means Ash is the victor!" the ref announced and the students cheered

"Torterra sure does pack one heck of a punch" Tierno said as he clapped

"I wonder what his other Pokemon are like! They must be super powerful too" Trevor added

"Plus, who's to say that Torterra is his strongest Pokemon. That sure does say a lot" Shauna pointed out

"Ash is a good trainer alright" Gary nodded

Serena, who was sitting on the farthest side of the group, glanced towards the right and was pleased to see that Ash was being well-received by her friends. Well, at least most of them. She couldn't help but notice the looks on Miette and Calem's faces that worried her.

Calem had a scowl on his face, but the mean kind of one; the kind of one where he was trying to figure out something about Ash, like he was missing a piece of the puzzle. On the other hand, Miette had a grin on her face, and Serena knew what was going on inside her head.

**Ash**

"You surprised me Ash," Jason admitted as he returned his Pokemon, "though Hydreigon could fly, you were able to use Torterra's moves to your advantage. And he's clearly well-trained based on how much damage he could dish"

"Thanks! I try my hardest with all my Pokemon so that we could get even stronger together" Ash said and Pikachu, who was on his shoulder again, pumped his fist

"Well then students, that was our assembly! I hope you all enjoy the battles, but for now, please report to one of the offices to pick up a class schedule" Sycamore announced

"Something tells me you're not just the average trainer though" Jason said as the two of them walked towards the exit of the dome

"What do you mean?" Ash replied

"You just got here, and based off the Pokemon you've used so far, you've been to at least two other regions and travelled them. Though, based off your skills, I'd say you've travelled about four or five of them" Jason explained

"Yeah, I've traveled Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, and Unova so far. Kalos is my sixth, and I don't think I'm stopping here" Ash informed

"Ash!" Serena's voice called out, and the two trainers stopped to see her rushing down the steps with her friends trailing behind

"Hey Serena" Ash greeted, a smile forming on his face

"That was great! Congratulations on your win!" Serena said as she stopped in front of the trainers

"Yeah, congrats," Jason said as he made his way for the exit, "but the longer you spend here, the more time that'll be in line"

**.**

Thankfully, with the thirty minute period between the assembly and first period, Ash and co. were able to obtain their schedules with relative ease, and with fifteen minutes still left on the time. The group passed around their sheets of paper until they all had a good idea of who they had in each class. For Ash, his schedule was quiet simple - biology in first period, battling in second, chemistry in third, geography and history in fourth, physics in fifth, and a class called performing in sixth.

Ash had gotten Gary and Serena for first period, Tierno and Trevor for second, Serena and Calem for third, Miette in fourth and fifth, and oddly enough, everyone had performing together.

"What is performing anyways?" Ash asked

"It's where a trainer and their Pokemon work together to make these cool effects and put on a show!" Serena answered. "It's a bit hard to explain, but you'll get the idea when you see it"

"Somehow we all got the same period. How cool" Gary said

Ten minutes later, the bell rung and Ash, Gary, and Serena set off to find their class. They walked through the hallways which were crowded with students until they made it to the part of the school where a majority of the science classes were. Eventually, they found their destination walked into the classroom, where they were unsurprised to see Professor Sycamore as the teacher. Each classroom was large, with your usual whiteboard and teacher's desk at the front of the room, and rows and columns of desks in the center. At the very back of the room, there were black tables which looked they were used for laboratory work. Behind those, there bookshelves filled with books from different typings to different evolution forms.

"Welcome students! Take a seat wherever you would like" Sycamore said as other students began to fill the room

Of course, the three students took a seat in the back of the room in the right corner, with Ash in the middle and Gary at the very corner.

"I wonder what we're going to learn for the first day" Gary thought out loud

"I'm not sure, but I do want to hear more about Mega Evolution" Serena said. "It's so mysterious, but at the same time, interesting"

Sure enough, when class started, Professor Sycamore presented his research on Mega Evolution, including his theories on why it existed. Yet, there was still too little on the topic to learn about it, so he simply assigned a beginning of the year project that would be done in groups of three.

Professor Sycamore walked around the room and handed each group a paper with topics you could choose from. The group scanned the paper and founded a handful of interesting topics, but there was one that they all agreed on - the bond between a Pokemon and its trainer.

"This should be fairly easy. You guys can come over and we can work on the project from there" Serena said

Biology went by fairly quickly after that, with it mostly being spent on research. Ash's second period was Pokemon Battling, which would probably come to be his favorite class in terms of the topic. He found himself back at the dome where the assembly had been held, and he spotted Tierno and Trevor on the other side of the room.

"Hey Ash!" Tierno greeted

"Hey guys" Ash replied

The three talked about how their first period had gone, until they noticed that the teacher still hadn't arrived even a minute after the bell had rung. Students took a seat in the stands and waited, until what they thought was a student walked in. He wore mostly all black, but what stood out the most was his blue scarf that stuck out at a weird angle.

"Welcome everyone!" he said, stopping in front of the stands and waving. "Though I may not look like it, I'll be your guys's teacher. You can just call me Alain"

"So that's Alain!" Trevor whispered a bit loudly

"Am I suppose to know him?" Ash responded

"He's a really popular battler here in Kalos, though no one can ever get a picture of him because he always leaves right after winning" Trevor said

"There's no way to get better battling experience and knowledge than by doing it, so help your self to the battlefields in the dome and outside of it" Alain said and students got up to go find opponents and a field

Ash walked down the steps and began to follow Tierno and Trevor, but he felt someone tap his shoulder so he turned around to find Alain with a faint smile on his face.

"I was impressed with what I saw from you earlier Ash. If you're up for it, I'd like to challenge you to a one-on-one battle" Alain said

"There's no way I would turn down a fight from a guy like you. You're on" Ash replied

The two took positions across from each other on the largest battlefield inside the dome. Pikachu hopped off Ash's shoulder and stayed standing next to him, while Alain released his Pokemon - a Charizard.

"Infernape, I choose you!" Ash said as he tossed forth his Pokeball and released the fire-and-fighting-type

"I'm sure you know the rules, which means you can have the first move" Alain offered

"Alright Infernape. Use Mach Punch!" Ash began

"Charizard, use Thunder Punch!" Alain said

The two Pokemon charged forward, their fists radiating with energy. Their attacks clashed in the center and sent shockwaves that forced their trainers to shield their eyes from the impact dust.

"Use Dragon Claw!" Alain exclaimed

Charizard activated Dragon Claw and uppercutted Infernape with enough force to send him back to the other side of the battlefield, where he recovered with relative ease.

"Now use Flamethrower!" Alain continued

"Infernape, stop that with your own Flamethrower!" Ash defended

Both Pokemon opened their mouth and fired powerful Flamethrowers that clashed in the center of the battlefield and struggled for control, until they gave out and exploded in the center. Before Ash could give another command, another Flamethrower shot out of the smoke and hit Infernape unexpectedly. All of the smoke on the battlefield cleared, and Charizard stood boldly while Infernape had sustained some scratches.

"He sure is tough" Ash muttered. "Looks like we'll have to amp up the heat"


	6. Chapter Six: A Study in Psychology

**Jason**

**Never** **before** **had** **Jason** **been** **intrigued** **by** **people** **the** **way** **he** **found** **himself** **wanting** **to** **learn** **more** **about** **Ash** **and** **his** **group** **of** **friends.** At first, Ash hadn't looked so impressive in their first fight, where his Charizard had lost badly. Then, he had put on quite the show during the school's first day mini-tournament.

Something else interested him though. It wasn't the fact that he had travelled five other regions, or his battling skills, but him and the people surrounding him. If there was one thing people knew about Jason, it was that he was exceptionally intelligent. He could pick things up with just the slightest of clues; some people thought he was a mindreader.

It was currently third period Chemistry, and he was more interested in watching Ash, Serena, and Calem's interactions than the lesson. Plus, he already knew about the different types of Pokemon berries and what exactly was in them. Ash and the others sat in the second to last row, and Jason sat right behind them, though they were unaware of that fact.

"Kalos sure is interesting so far" Ash said

"You get use to it" Calem replied unnervingly quick. "Serena, I-"

"So Ash, what are the regions you've been to like? I've heard Unova has a lot of powerful Pokemon" Serena said

"Unova probably was my toughest league. Besides that, it was pretty fun. There's lots of things to do over there" Ash answered

Unbeknownst to Ash and Serena, Calem squinted his eyes at Ash and slouched down into his seat. Without much thought, Jason could pick up that Serena and Calem had some kind of bond that may go past just a normal friendship. Though with Ash here, that seemed to be compromised.

"So you really battled Alain? Wow, I wonder what he looks like. I have Pokemon Battling next, so I'll finally get to see" Serena said

"Alain's not so tough" Calem muttered

"I don't know Calem, he's only ever been defeated once" Serena argued

"Only defeated once? I wonder who could have done that" Ash said

"It's that black-robed guy that we saw with the Mega Tyranitar in Lumiose City. We just call him X, but he's tied for the most powerful trainer in Kalos behind the champion" Serena informed

"X, huh" Ash mumbled. "Who's tied with him?"

"Another mysterious guy that they call Y. He looks like X, but he wears a white robe and has a cape to go with it. They've never fought before, but they're both undefeated and are really powerful, so people assume that they're equal" Serena explained

"I'd say X is more powerful" Calem said, attracting a strange look from Serena that startled him. "Just based off what I've seen, you know"

"If you ask me, Y is the better trainer. His Charizard is probably the strongest Pokemon I've ever seen, only second to the champion's Gardevoir" Serena said

Class went by slowly, and Jason payed attention the body language and tone that varied from person to person. Calem seemed to speak to Ash somewhat sharply, seemingly out of jealously, while Ash was the complete opposite. The interesting factor was Serena though - she spoke to Calem as if they've been friends for a long time, but the way she spoke to Ash... he could tell she might seem him as more than a friend. It was in the way she looked at him, and her nervous tone.

The bell rang, and Jason walked to his next class - history, perhaps his least favorite subject. Interestingly enough, both Ash and Miette were in that class as well, which was good because he wanted to see what was going on between those two as well.

Positioning was almost the same. Jason sat in the very-most corner of the room, and Ash and Miette sat in front of him without having noticed him. Class began and the teacher went about their first day routine - explaining the rules, grading, and so on.

"How's Kalos so far Ash?" Miette asked as the teacher explained the first lesson that they would be going over

"It's great so far, though there's still a lot I have to see" Ash answered

"If you want, I could show you some of the best spots in Lumiose City after school" Miette offered

"Sure! That'd be great" Ash agreed

On the surface, it would seem like Miette had taken a liking to Ash. Yet, that wasn't the case, and Jason picked that up. She had another goal in mind - one he was yet to figure it out, though he was determined to get to the bottom of it, considering he had nothing better to do.

The conversation had ceased due to the teacher deciding to teach a lesson on the first day of school, so everyone was paying attention. If Miette truly liked Ash, then she probably would have shot a few quick glances at him by now, yet she didn't.

What are you doing Miette? Jason thought to himself.

Thankfully, the lesson went by quickly and the bell rang not so long after. It was time for lunch, and Jason found himself approaching Ash as he follow Miette.

"Oh, hey Jason" Ash greeted

"I heard you battled Alain" He said

"Yeah, I did. I was using my Infernape against his Charizard, and we were pretty evenly matched until he used Mega Evolution. But when his Charizard mega evolved, it looked different than yours" Ash replied

"Mega Charizard X, huh" Jason whispered under his breath

**.**

Lunch had been the perfect time for Jason to get some observing done. He had learned a few things, like how Serena and Calem had been friends for four years now. Though, Serena had met Ash about seven years ago. When that was brought up, Calem had given Ash a look that only Jason had noticed. There was definitely something going on - like a love triangle in the making.

Not only that, he had definitely seen the teasing Miette had been doing to Serena, and the blushes that would come in response. It was like the first episode of a drama show.

Two more periods went by, and it came time for sixth period - Pokemon Performing, also another place to conduct some observing, as everyone in Ash's friend group had that class. The classroom was different than others, it was much larger and had a stage.

"I wonder who's going to be teaching the class" Miette said

"No one else has the class, so I'm not sure" Serena looked around the room with interest

"Hey Ash, I heard you lost pretty badly to Alain" Gary teased

"Not that you would've done any better" Ash fired back

"Please, I'm sure I could beat him" Gary assured confidently

The bell rang to indicate the start of class, and on cue, footsteps came from the back of the stage. The fourteen other students of the class turned their attention towards the sound, and most of them were taken aback to see an easily recognizable face up on stage.

"Hey everyone! It's great to meet you all!"

"The Kalos Queen?!" Shauna and Miette both exclaimed

Kalos Queen? Jason thought, turning around to see that, in fact, the Kalos Queen Aria was up on stage with a wide smile on her face. He made eye contact with her, and it was like time suddenly stopped just to preserve that one second. Her smile dropped a bit and her eyes glistened, but she quickly diverted her gaze back to the mass.

"You don't mean you're seriously going to be our teacher, right?" Miette asked

"I thought it would be a nice opportunity, so here I am!" Aria confirmed. "For the first day, it's going to be mostly a free period. I want you all to get to know to each other"

Nothing much needed to be said after that. Conversations broke out, mostly concerning the fact that the Kalos Queen was literally up there on stage. Jason looked around to see that Ash and Serena were both together, meeting new people as a pair. Instead of doing the same himself, he made the bold move of turning around.

"So you're the 'Kalos Queen' everyone raves about" Jason expressed sarcastically

"I suppose so" Aria replied with the same tone, a smile tugging at her lips

"Hope you're a good battler than" Jason said

Aria raised an eyebrow in response. "How come?"

"Because I'd like to challenge you to a battle"

**Serena**

Suddenly, the chatter died down and all of the friendliness had been replaced with shock. The Kalos Queen had been challenged to a battle before their every eyes after all. Naturally, they expected the challenge to be turned down, but were even more shocked to hear "Challenge accepted"

Luckily, there was a battlefield outside with a door in the classroom leading to it. Serena stood by Ash and the rest of her friends while Jason and Aria took positions on opposite sides of the battlefield.

"I can't believe we get to see the Kalos Queen battle!" Shauna said excitingly

"I can't believe she got challenged" Trevor said

"And I can't believe she accepted" Calem mumbled

"Are you still mad that you lost Calem?" Serena teased

"No" He denied seriously

On the right-side of the battlefield stood Aria and Delphox, the final evolution to Fennekin and a fire-and-psychic-type. On the left-side of the battlefield was Jason and his black Charizard, a fire-and-flying type.

"Delphox, use Shadow Ball!" Aria began

"Charizard, Flame Rush" Jason commanded

Delphox jumped forward and shot a fast Shadow Ball from its branch that was ignited by a strong flame. A hot aura fire engulfed Charizard, and he lunged forward, destroying the attack with Fire Fang. But he didn't stop there, and kept flying forward, hitting Delphox with a large Fire Punch that sent it stumbling back.

"Mystical Fire!" Aria countered

Twirling her branch, Delphox shot a column of flames forward that blasted Charizard and set off an explosion that covered the fire-and-flying-type in smoke.

"Flames won't work on Charizard" Jason said

On cue, Charizard bursted out of the smoke and landed a tough Dragon Claw. Delphox quickly countered and used Power-Up Punch, hitting Charizard in the chest and sending him flying back to the other side of the battlefield.

"Now use Flamethrower!" Aria continued

Delphox placed both hands on its branch and shot another column of flames forward that hit Charizard, but doing no damage as the flames simply broke off into different directions upon impact.

"Fire Punch" Jason instructed

Aria waited a moment before commanding, "Stone Edge!"

Columns of blue stone shot up from the ground and slammed into Charizard at full force, causing him to stagger backwards. Without needing a command, Delphox jumped up to the nearest column of stone and hopped from one to another before activating Power-Up Punch and hitting Charizard with it, causing him to slide back against the ground.

"Aria's pretty good!" Tierno said

"She is the Kalos Queen after all" Miette pointed out

"Looks like she's having trouble though. Two of Delphox's moves can't do any damage to Charizard" Trevor said

"Use Power-Up Punch again!" Aria commanded

Delphox lunged forward and took a swing, but Charizard easily dodged by flying into the sky and hovering above her.

"So I can't use Mystical Fire or Flamethrower" Aria said

"That's right, which is why we're ending this" Jason responded. "Charizard, use Overheat Magnetron"

Charizard bumped its two fists together, and the ground began to shake violently. The sun began to shine brighter as a massive aura of flames surrounded Charizard, with a dark red glow appearing around him.

"Delphox, do your best to dodge it!"

"She's quick, but there's no escape from this attack" Jason said

Spikes of fire began to shoot up from the ground and Delphox was having trouble hopping around the battlefield to avoid them. Eventually, one hit and staggered her, and Charizard took that opportunity to fire a massive Flamethrower that exploded upon impact with Delphox and covered the entire vicinity in smoke, including the observing students.

Once the smoke cleared, and a few coughs later, it was clear that Delphox had fainted and the fight had been finished relatively quickly.

"I guess we lost. Guess we'll just have to win next time" Aria said, sending a wink in her opponent's direction

**.**

On the walk home, Ash, Serena, and Gary talked about the most interesting part of their day. Though, they all agreed that sixth period had definitely been something.

"I can't believe we got to meet the Kalos Queen!" Serena said, but quickly noticing her friends' confusion. "Oh right, you guys don't know what that is..."

"Nope" Ash & Gary confirmed

"Well, the title of Kalos Queen is given to the best Pokemon Performer in the entire Kalos Region. You have to win three Princess Ribbons, and then win the Master Class to earn the title" Serena explained

"Kalos just gets more interesting, doesn't it" Ash said

"It sure does" Gary agreed. "I wonder what's gonna happen next"


	7. Chapter Seven: Rivals

**Ash**

**Lumiose** **City** **had** **to** **have** **been** **the** **most** **interesting** **city** **Ash** **had** **ever** **visited.** It seemed like you could explore the place for days, with all of the different kinds of shops and areas they have. Currently, he had taken up Miette's offer and took Serena and Gary with him.

"So glad we didn't get any homework" Gary sighed with relief

"Well it's only the first day" Serena pointed out

"Hey, have you guys noticed the strange looks on everyone's faces" Miette said

Ash, Serena, and Gary looked around to see that everyone was looking towards one direction - the direction they had come from. They turned to see people stepping aside for someone who was hard to see in the sunlight, but they finally made out a white-robed figure with a golden staff on his back.

"Ash, it's Y! The guy I was telling you about!" Serena said excitingly

"So that's him" Ash said. "I'm gonna challenge him to a battle!"

"Pika!" Pikachu agreed

"Ash, wait!" His friends attempted to protest but he was already rushing over

Y stopped in place as Ash knelt down in front of him and caught his breath. The crowd of people that had moved out of the way turned their attention to the encounter in interest.

"I-I want to challenge you to a battle!" Ash posed

People in the crowd gasped that such a young trainer had challenged the legendary trainer, who was notorious for turning down battles unless he saw a worthy opponent.

"I admire your confidence, but you have ways to go before you can challenge me alone" Y said and Ash held back a disappointed look. "However, my Pokemon has been searching for a good fight, so I will allow you to challenge him under the condition that you get a second trainer to assist you"

"A second trainer..." Ash repeated under his breath

**.**

A large crowd of people gathered to witness the ongoing battle - Ash and Gary against the legendary Y. Those who had the pleasure of watching Y's battles in realtime knew that with the right opponent, they could be some of the most entertaining.

"I can't believe you actually got us into this" Gary said, pulling out a Pokeball

"Come on Gary, it'll be fun" Ash grinned, pulling out his own ball

"Guess this is a good time to get some reffing practice in" Serena said before clearing her throat. "This will be a one on two Pokemon battle! Once all Pokemon from either side can no longer continue, the match will end! Trainers, bring out your Pokemon!"

"Charizard, I choose you!" Ash announced, throwing his Pokeball forward to release the fire-and-flying-type that shot a Flamethrower into the air upon release.

"Go Blastoise!" Gary said, and the mighty water-type appeared on the battlefield next to Charizard. "Today, you guys are allies"

Charizard nodded and held a thumbs-up, and Blastoise returned the exchange.

"I hope you live up to the expectations" Y said, removing the golden staff, which had a winged tip and a Pokeball nestled in, off his back and thrusted it into the ground; it shook and the red laser from the ball released Y's Pokemon - a Charizard.

This Charizard was different though - It had a golden helmet, and the sun seemed to shine down onto it brightly, as if attracted to it.

"It sure does look powerful" Gary said

"I wouldn't expect anything less based off what I've heard" Ash replied

"Let the match begin!" Serena declared

"Blastoise, use Hydro Pump!" Gary began

"Charizard, use Ghostly Flames" Y countered

Blastoise stepped forward and fired a massive column of water from its mouth; Charizard roared and released a Flamethrower composed of dark green flames. The two attacks clashed, and the fire-type attack was hot enough to cancel it out.

"Use Dragon Tail!" Ash commanded

"When he's close, use Dragon Power" Y instructed

Ash's Charizard flew up a couple of feet and charged forward. When he got close, his tail glowed green and he did an aerial flip to attempt an attack, but a column of white flames shot out of the ground beneath him and exploded against him.

"Rapid Spin!" Gary continued

"Use Dragon Fist!" Y countered

Blastoise entered its shell and spun like gyro before blasting forward; Charizard's fist ignited wildly with white flames, and he flew forward with his fist extended. The two attacks clashed in the center of the battlefield, but Charizard was much stronger and Blastoise was forced out of its shell and was sent flying back.

"Now Charizard! Flamethrower!" Ash exclaimed

The smoke from Dragon Power cleared out and Ash's Charizard fired a Flamethrower from behind Y's.

"Good try, but it won't work" Y said. "Charizard, use Dragon Fire!"

Y's Charizard quickly turned down and opened up its mouth. Flamethrower suddenly paused a couple of inches away from it, and the flames were absorbed into Charizard's mouth, as if he inhaled it.

"Release!"

"Dodge it Charizard!" Ash attempted

Ash's Charizard narrowly dodged the Flamethrower that was shot back at it, but the flames suddenly changed direction and turned back around, colliding with it from behind. While Y's Pokemon was distracted, Blastoise recovered and fired a Hydro Pump that managed to land and set off an explosion, leaving both Charizards engulfed in smoke.

The three trainers allowed for the smoke to clear, and for each Pokemon to retreat to their original position on the battlefield.

"If we want to win, we have to work together" Ash said

"Fine by me. You do the distracting, and we'll do the attacking!" Gary replied. "After all, we've got the type advantage"

"Charizard, use Heaven's Tower" Y resumed

"What the heck is that" Gary muttered

"I don't know, guess we'll have to wait and s-"

A massive column of flames shot out of the ground beneath Ash's Charizard and pressed against him, propelling him into the air until he was so high in the sky, he was out of view.

"Blastoise! Hydro Canon!" Gary shouted

Quickly listening, Blastoise fired a shot of water from each of its two cannons. Y's Charizard managed to dodge one, but the other one hit. Then, Ash's Charizard came raging down from the sky and hit Y's Charizard with a big Dragon Claw.

"Charizard, Terrific Flames" Y said

"Dodge it Charizard!" Ash quickly pleaded

Y's Charizard quickly shot a Flamethrower composed of black flames that hit Ash's Charizard and set him crashing into Blastoise, effectively hitting him two. An explosion was set off, and the two Pokemon struggled to get up as it cleared.

"Those moves are super powerful, and he's got more than four of them" Gary said

"He's used five of them so far, all moves I've never heard of" Ash added

Charizard and Blastoise got back up, but were both singed by black flames, as if they were poisoned.

"You've got power, but you lack coordination, which is why Charizard will finish it with this next attack" Y said

"Blastoise, get ready to counterattack with Rapid Spin" Gary said, and Blastoise nodded before entering its shell

"Get ready Charizard" Ash said

The ground shook and Y's Charizard flew up into the air. Four large balls of fire formed, two above each of its wings.

"Now!" Ash & Gary both announced

From each of the fireballs, miniature ones began to fire out at a massive rate, and Charizard and Blastoise were both struggling to traverse the battlefield and dodge the rain of fireballs. Miraculously, Ash's Charizard got through and stopped the attack by hitting Y's Charizard with a strong Flamethrower that covered it in smoke. Blastoise exited its shell and assisted with a Hydro Pump that added damage.

"Hey! We did it!" Gary said excitingly

Inside the smoke, Charizard's flaming silhouette appeared and began to morph. The cloud of smoke exploded and cleared, revealing a Mega Evolved Charizard.

"Excellent, you've pushed him to Mega Evolution" Y said

Charizard looked identical to Jason's Mega Charizard Y, but it retained its orange color and had chains of white fire flowing out of the sides of its mouth.

"Now we're in for it" Gary mumbled

"Charizard, use Dragon's Wrath!" Y exclaimed

Both Ash and Gary were unable to give their Pokemon time to do anything as chains of fire erupted out of the ground, wrapping around Charizard and Blastoise and holding them in place. Y's Charizard roared loud enough to shake the ground, and a large ball of white fire appeared just above its mouth. He titled his head forward, sending the white fireball forward that hit the center of the battlefield before exploding.

It felt like Ash had passed out. When he came back to his senses, his vision was dizzy and his ears were ringing. His eyes scanned the battlefield until he saw that Charizard and Blastoise were both unconscious.

"You both have potential, but you still have a long way to go before you can challenge me again" Y said, thrusting his staff into the ground again, which called Charizard back into its Pokeball which rested at the tip of the staff. "I hope to see you both in the Kalos League. Don't disappoint me"

Ash and Gary were left dumbstruck as Y walked away, his figure disappearing into the bright sunlight. They called back their Pokemon, and walked over to Serena and Miette who looked surprised at what they had just seen. The crowd murmured amongst themselves, and began to disband.

"He sure does live up to what they say" Miette said

"But you guys still did great! He even Mega Evolved" Serena said

"I'm gonna work hard so that one day, I'll be able to challenge him by myself and beat him" Ash made a fist of confidence and looked up to the sky

"I'm sure you can do it Ash. I believe in you" Serena replied

"Of course you do" Miette giggled and Serena blushed

"So that was you two fighting just now" a familiar voice said, and the ground turned to see Calem approaching them

"Calem?" Serena asked

"I was hoping to find you here. I didn't get the chance to ask you earlier, but I wanted to know if you would come and watch me take on a tournament" Calem said

"There's tournament?" Ash & Gary both inquired

"It's one of those competitions where you can earn a mega stone or a key stone. Then again, I didn't expect you to know that" Calem replied a bit sharply, and narrowing his eyes just a bit. "So Serena, you up for it?"

"I, um..." Serena glanced around at her friends with uncertainty. "Sure I guess"

"Well then, I'll continue to show these two around in the mean time. See you later Serena" Miette said, shooting a glance at Serena that Ash couldn't interpret. Though, whatever it was, Serena looked a mix of sad and disappointed

**.**

"Maybe we can find a book around here that has those moves Y used" Gary said as the trio exited a Pokecenter and went on their way to walk the streets of Lumiose City

"You're still on about that?" Miette sighed

"It could just be moves you could only learn here in Kalos" Ash guessed

"I doubt that. I've lived here my entire life, and never seen those moves before from anyone other than him" Miette said. "They say Y is a traveller, so he could have learned it elsewhere"

"Wherever he learned them, they're super powerful" Ash said as the trio sat down on a bench in a park. "Maybe my Charizard can learn those moves too"

"Who knows" Gary shrugged. "It could be some kind of special training. In that case, maybe I could get Blastoise to learn powerful moves like Y and his Charizard"

"Hey! Your Ash!" said a blonde boy in a blue jumpsuit that happened to pass by

"Oh, hey" Ash greeted with a friendly smile

"We saw your battle against Y earlier! It was super amazing!" said a young girl, presumably his sister

"My name's Clemont, and this is my little sister Bonnie!" the blonde said

"Nice to meet you guys!" Bonnie waved

"I'm the Gary Oak, you might've heard of me before" Gary replied

"There goes his ego" Ash sighed

"And I'm Miette" Miette added. "But I feel like I've seen you somewhere Clemont..."

"Well, I go to the Pokémon School. I saw Ash's battles there too" Clemont replied

Miette narrowed her eyes. "That may be true, but I've seen you somewhere else"

"Maybe it was the Lumiose City Gym! My brother Clemont's the gym leader there" Bonnie said

"That's it. I saw Calem battle you over the summer" Miette said

"Your the gym leader here? That's totally cool" Gary said

"It's not that big of a deal" Clemont chuckled nervously while rubbing the back of his head

"I thought I remembered seeing some kind of robot at the Lumiose City Gym. He said I need four gym badges to battle there" Ash said

"You must be talking about Clembot! Clemont invented him to take care of the gym when he couldn't" Bonnie explained

"Your an inventor?" Gary asked

"Clemont makes lots of cool inventions! Problem is they tend to blow up" Bonnie said

"A robot that can act as a gym leader is pretty cool though" Ash pointed out

"So I take it your smart then" Gary said. "Would you know anything about Y's Charizard and the moves that it uses?"

"By the analyses that I've done, it's mostly just a really good control over the fire-typing. Though it would take several years working on just fire-type moves to get to that point" Clemont answered

"I have only ever seen Y use Charizard" Miette said. "But the battles that I've seen, he used mostly normal moves like Flamethrower"

"He's really mysterious; you guys are really lucky to have battled him" Clemont said. "We may never get answers, unless he decides to tell us"

"As an upcoming professor," Gary pointed a thumb at himself, "I'll figure it out myself"

"Y... just who are you" Ash whispered under his breath while looking up at the sky and into the distance


	8. Chapter Eight: Developments

**Serena** **/** **August** **12th,** **7:00** **PM**

**It's** **safe** **to** **say** **that** **without** **Serena,** **Ash** **and** **Gary** **might** **have** **been** **totally** **screwed.** The idea of school was just such a foreign idea to the two, that when it came time to do the project, they realized that they didn't really know what to do.

"We could just do an old-fashioned poster" Serena said

"As a professor, I've got a good idea" Gary announced. "We can use the project to prove that Pokemon with a stronger bond with their trainer, preform better in battle"

"That's a good idea" Serena agreed

"I can't believe Gary was the one to come up with it" Ash joked

"Hey!" Gary protested. "I'll have you know that being dumb is just an act to attract the girls"

"As a girl, I don't think it works" Serena replied and both Ash and Pikachu laughed

"You know its funny when the Pokemon is laughing too" Gary muttered miserably

The group got to work on their project, using mostly the relationship between Ash and Pikachu as the basis. Within about an hour, they had assembled a nice an organized poster - thanks to Serena, who turned out to be a pretty big clean-freak - and the group was left with some extra time on their hands.

"You know, I'm still trying to Mega Evolve my Blastoise," Gary said, "but every time there's a tournament, I never happen to be around"

"Maybe it's a sign" Serena shrugged. "When I went with Calem to the gym in Shalour City, the gym leader Mega Evolved their Lucario, but something went wrong and it went on a rampage"

"And what happened after that?" Ash asked

"Calem had to bring out one of his Pokemon and take it out before it caused any harm. We had to return the next week, and when we did, Calem was able to win" Serena explained

"You said Calem already beat every gym, right?" Gary said. "I thought Ash was able to beat him in a battle though"

"Well..." Serena hesitated, looking back and forth between the two. "That was one of his weaker Pokemon, sorry Ash"

"I could tell based off of his battle earlier, though I wonder why he held back" Ash said

"I'm not sure either, but if I had to guess, I'd say he was testing you" Serena replied

"Next time I get the chance then, I want to battle him for real" Ash wished

**August** **13th** **/** **School**

Needless to say, Serena didn't expect the second day of school to start off like this. She, Ash, and Gary made their way over to their group of friends, who were watching a large cloud of dust on the battlefield.

"What's going on?" She inquired

"Calem's challenged Jason to a rematch" Shauna said with a sense of boredom, her head on one arm that was resting on the table

"I wish I could see how that was going" Gary said

Seconds later, the dust exploded from a Flamethrower fired off by Jason's black Charizard. Calem's Pokemon was a Pidgeot, except it looked different. The two Pokemon swooped around in the air, narrowly dodging attacks from each other.

"Do all Pidgeot in Kalos look like that?" Gary asked, already pulling out his notebook and pen

"It's Mega Evolution," Shauna answered, "but it doesn't seem to be helping his chances"

Charizard punched forward with a powerful Fire Punch; Mega Pidgeot backed up just in time and went in for a slash of its wings, only to be blocked by Charizard's forearm.

"Oh right, Calem won a Pidgeotite from the tournament he entered in yesterday" Serena recalled

"That boy sure does have an ego" Shauna sighed

"I'd say it's rightful. He's a really powerful trainer" Serena argued

"Even then, he doesn't seem to know his place" Shauna said

There was a bright glow of multiple colors in the air, followed by an explosion that brought out a purple Charizard with different features - Mega Charizard Y.

"Looks like this battle is coming to an end" Trevor said, taking a picture of the two Mega Evolved Pokemon staring each other off

"Took long enough. The bell's about to go off" Shauna pointed off

"Pidgeot, use Hyper Beam!" Calem commanded

Mega Pidgeot closed its wings and began to gather energy, white particles being attracted towards it. After a couple of moments, it fired off Hyper Beam; Charizard activated Dragon Claw and cut straight through the attack, before swooping forward and delivering the finishing attack.

"At least you got closer than last time" Jason returned Charizard and turned to walk away

Calem scowled and walked back to his friends, putting his Pokeball back into his pocket. Right as he reached the group, the bell rang, indicating that it was time to head to first class.

"Something's wrong with that Charizard" Calem muttered before pushing past the group and walking to class

Despite the bell having rung, the group stood around for a moment, watching Calem walk away. There was no doubt it - Calem was acting strange. Ever since school had started, he seemed more and more closed off, and Serena had definitely noticed it.

**Lunch**

The group of eight sat around a circular table, talking about how their classes went. Jokes were made, people laughed, but Serena, who sat across from Calem, noticed that he hadn't said a single thing so far.

"How were your classes Calem?" Serena asked

"Fine" He answered simply, playing around with a Pokeball in his hand. Serena knew the Pokemon in the ball just by the small dent and the few minor scratches that it had. She wondered why he hadn't used him, though if the right time came, he probably would.

**Ash**

On the way to his next class, Ash was called to the office to report to Professor Sycamore. He thought he might have gotten into trouble for something, but he was surprised to walk in and find two pairs of eyes looking back at him.

"Ash! Welcome! Please have a seat" Sycamore said

"So I'm not in trouble?" Ash asked as he complied

"Of course not," Sycamore chuckled, "I just wanted you to meet someone"

The professor motioned to the Pokemon in front of him - one that he recognized.

"Froak!" it said

"I'm sure you haven't noticed, but he's been watching you Ash. He seemed to have really liked your victory in yesterday's tournament" Sycamore explained, pulling a Pokeball out of his drawer and placing it on the table. "This particular Froakie has been returned by many trainers for not following commands, but I think that if your up for it, you two could make a great team"

"A team, huh? What do you say Froakie, are you up for it?" Ash said

"Froakie!" It agreed

Ash picked up the Pokeball and tapped Froakie with it. The red light took the water-type Pokemon in, and the ball shook three times before releasing sparkles.

"Looks like Froakie's my first Kalos Pokemon!" Ash said

**.**

Later that day, Ash and Gary went out to Lumiose City in order to find a battlefield where they could properly test Froakie's abilities out.

"Is there some kind of event? Clearly something is going on" Gary said, referring to all the passersby that had stopped in place and were talking amongst themselves

"Maybe there's a tournament for a Mega Evolution stone going on" Ash guessed

In an instant, Gary stopped in sleeve and tugged on the sleeve of a boy about their age with green hair. "Hey you! What's going on?"

"X and Y are about to cross paths" He answered, pointing up the road

Out of the bright sunlight, Y appeared. As he got closed, Ash could point out the fact that he looked different this time around. He wore metal armor and a golden cape with a hood over his head. What stood out were his dark eyes, and the white bandana that left only that part of his face visible. On his back, four different staffs rested, all different shapes with spots for a Pokeball in them.

Feeling a heavy presence, Ash turned around to see the dark-robed X walk out the shadows. A light cloud of dark mist followed him as he walked, and Ash and Gary stepped aside for the trainers. Time seemed to slow down as they passed each other, neither acknowledging the others presence. By the time Ash came back to his senses, both trainers were gone.

"How anticlimactic. I thought they were going to battle" Gary said

"They say a battle between those two might destroy the entire city" the boy from before replied, writing down something into a small journal. "You guys are Ash and Gary, right? I'm a big fan!"

"A fan?" Ash responded

"I'm not surprised" Gary chuckled egoistically

"My name's Sawyer, it's nice to finally meeting you guys" He said

"Nice to meet you too Sawyer" Ash shook hands with him

"So what's this about the entire city being destroyed? I'm having trouble believing that" Gary said

"I'm sure you know how crazy Y's moves can be, considering you two battled him already. After doing some analyzing on his previous fights, I can say he was fighting at less than twenty-five percent effort, which means if he were to go all out and fight a trainer of equal strength, it could be pretty destructive" Sawyer explained

"I knew he was holding back, but by that much..." Ash said, facing the dark area where Y had walked into

"You know what, I have an idea" Gary announced

**.**

Surprisingly enough, Gary's simple plan may have been able to give them the answers that they needed. By strange coincidence, the Kalos Queen Aria happened to be in town as well, and somehow she ended up battling against Y. It was a good thing that Ash, Gary, and Sawyer were the first ones to spot the battle, because a massive crowd had gathered around.

"I hope you live up to expectations" Aria smiled, releasing Delphox from her Pokeball

"Likewise" Y removed a curved staff of his back, with a Pokeball resting in the curve. He thrusted the staff into the ground, and a Blaziken with metal gauntlets on its hand and an eyepatch over one of its eyes appeared on the battlefield. "You can have the first move"

"Delphox, Power-Up Punch!" Aria began

"Blaziken, use Fist of Zeus!" Y commanded

Delphox's fist glowed white as it dashed forward towards Blaziken, whose fist began to radiate with lots of electrical energy. Their attacks clashed in the center of the battlefield and sent shockwaves of air out that forced the viewers to shield their eyes.

"Use Flamethrower!" Aria said

"Blaze Kick" Y countered

The temperature in the vicinity raised a couple of degrees as Delphox gracefully backed up and fired off a quick Flamethrower. Blaziken's leg burnt up with fire, and he jumped straight over the attack, flipping in the air and slamming his leg down onto Delphox's head. A cloud of dust blinded the battlefield from the force caused by Delphox collided with the ground.

"Mystical Fire!" Aria persevered

Quickly recovering, Delphox twirled her branch and fired off a blast of fire that curved and nearly hit Blaziken, who barely managed to dodge. Suddenly, the flames changed direction and back around, hitting Blaziken in the back.

"They landed a hit!" Sawyer said, impressed

"We landed a couple" Gary replied

"Yeah, but there was two of you guys" Sawyer pointed out

The dust cleared, and Blaziken had returned to his position on the battlefield with minor scratches covering his body.

"Use Wheel of Flames" Y instructed

Just above Blaziken, eight balls of fire burnt to life and began to magically circle around him.

"Dodge them and use Power-Up Punch!" Aria said

Delphox dashed forward, and the fireballs were sent off. Running in a zigzag pattern, Delphox managed to avoid all eight fireballs and get through, landing its attack on Blaziken, which sent it staggering back.

"Blaziken, Dragon Fist" Y said

Golden flames sparked up from Blaziken's fist, and he jumped forward, uppercutting Delphox with the attack and sending her flying back to the other side of the battlefield.

"Delphox, use Mystical Fire!" Aria continued

"Blaziken, use Shadow Slash" Y replied

Blaziken lunged forward, but disappeared as soon as he did. Aria seemed to know what had happened though, as she nodded at her Pokemon, who jumped up and fired Mystical Fire where it had previously been standing. Blaziken reappeared where Delphox had been previously, and was hit by Mystical Fire.

"So the Kalos Queen is as good as they say" Sawyer wrote notes down into his journal. "She's holding her own pretty well"

"Use Tower of Heaven" Y said

Smoothly recovering, Blaziken smashed his fist into the ground just as Delphox landed back on the ground. The vicinity shook and Aria commanded for Delphox to dodge, but it was pointless as a column of flames shot out of the ground, hitting Delphox and propelling it high into the air.

"Dragon Fist"

Fist glowing with golden flames, Blaziken jumped up high and hit Delphox midair with the powerful attack. Both Pokemon touched down onto the ground at the same time, with Delphox heavily injured.

"Don't give up Delphox, use Stone Edge!" Aria said

"Finish this with Supernova" Y finalized

Columns of blue stone shot out of the ground, charging towards Blaziken, who jumped high up into the sky again. Blaziken lifted his hand, and a ball of fire large enough to block out the sun formed above it. He tossed the attack forward, and it was as fast as it was large. Instead of causing an explosion from the impact, shockwaves of heat were sent out with a temperature that was definitely over a hundred.

"So you are Y" Aria stated before returning Delphox and thanking her

"You know me?" Y asked as he returned Blaziken back to the Pokeball in the staff

"I had my suspicious, but yes... I do know you" Aria said

Ash didn't know who Y was like Aria claimed, but he definitely knew that one day, he wanted to challenge him and defeat him, and the perfect place to do so would be the Kalos League.


	9. Chapter Nine: Troubles in Chemistry

**Serena** **/** **August** **14th**

**For** **some** **reason,** **I** **had** **a** **bad** **feeling** **about** **today** **when** **I** **woke** **up.** I had only gotten this feeling twice before, and both days ended up being miserable.

"What's wrong Serena?" my mom questioned as I ate my bowl of cereal

"Huh?" I snapped out of my daydream. "Nothing"

"You seem oddly distracted" she said

"I was just thinking about... stuff" I glanced out the kitchen window, where I had a direct view of Ash's house

"Is 'stuff' your keyword for Ash?" my mom teased

Against my will, I blushed. "What? No!"

It's true that I had a crush on Ash when we were younger and at summer camp, and I hadn't forgotten about him in the slightest over the years. But the feelings I had... I'm not so sure about them anymore. Ever time I see him and look into his eyes, my stomach flutters and my heart beats a little faster, but it could be a simple infatuation. He is good looking after all, or at least in my eyes.

"You should probably start heading to school or else you'll be late" my mom suggested

"Right" I agreed, getting up and slinging my backpack on

On the way out the door, I made sure to pick up Fennekin's Pokeball. As normal, Ash and Gary were just making their way out at the same time I was.

"Hey Serena!" Ash called, waving his hand.

I waved back and made my way over. "Hey Ash, Gary. Anything intresting happen yesterday?"

"As a matter of fact, yes" Gary confirmed as we started walking. "After school we went into Lumiose City, and we got to see X and Y walk past each other"

He went on to explain what had happened after that, a boy named Sawyer that they met, and Aria's battle against Y.

"Sounds like a lot of important stuff for less than an hour" I said

"It's like I'm one step closer to finding out who they are" Gary said

"Huh?"

"Gary's made it his new goal to find out who X and Y are" Ash answered

"Good luck then" I told him. "No offense though, much smarter people than you have tried and failed to reveal their identity"

"You know when people say 'no offense' they're about to say something offensive" Gary huffed, crossing his arms and faking annoyance

"She's not wrong though" Ash argued. "I'm sure if people really wanted to know who they were, they would have found out by now"

"It begs the question though. Why do they hide their identity in the first place?" Gary questioned

"Must have something to do with the fame" I guessed. "I mean, if people knew who their real identity were, they would always be followed and bombarded by press"

**.**

"So Serena, what class do you have next?" Miette asked as we exited second period

"I have chemistry with Ash, you know that" I replied

"I know, I just wanted to hear you say it" Miette grinned before turning and walking away with a wave

Raising my eyebrow, I stood still in the hallway processing what she meant as students passed me, until it hit me that I had played into her trap. Ever since Ash arrived in Kalos, Miette's been teasing me left and right about having a crush on him. She's not exactly wrong, but she's not completely right either. Do I have a crush on Ash? I'll just have to find out.

I walked into third period Chemistry a minute later than I usually would - after not having gotten Miette's jab - and took my seat in between Ash and Calem. The bell rung not long after, and the teacher announced that we would be heading to the field outside of the school in search of Pokemon berries that we would be doing experiments with.

"And we'll be having a competition too" the teacher said. "Get into teams of three, and the winning group will win a special prize. To win, find the most different types of berries"

**.**

All it took to make our team of three was a couple of exchanged glances. We followed the teacher out to the field, and were greeted by a vast valley with a forest off to the left, and a stream of water on the right. Several types of wild Pokemon called this area their home, and I thought I had even seen a Shiny Pokemon somewhere off in the distance.

"Competition begins now" the teacher announced

Seconds later, the other students took off running to pick berries off in the surrounding areas. Some even called out flying-type Pokemon and other kinds with a good sense of smell.

"I wonder what the prize is" Ash said

"It doesn't matter," Calem dismissed, walking in the direction of the forest, "all I know is I'm not loosing"

Ash and I exchanged a confused glance, but shrugged it off and followed Calem, who led us deeper into the forest. In five minutes, we had already picked out about six different types of berries, which was hopefully better more than the other groups.

"How do you know where to find all of these?" I inquired, picking out a seventh unique type

"Just a hunch" Calem said

I spotted an eighty type of berry, and pointed at it. "Ash, could you get that berry"

He nodded, going over to approach it. I waited until he was out of ear range to walk over to Calem, who was knelt down and examining a dark-black berry.

"Something wrong Calem?" I asked

"Everything's fine" He assured, not even turning to face me

"You don't look fine" I said. "You won't even look at me anymore. Ever since Ash got here-"

"It has nothing to do with him" Calem insisted, turning towards me. His eyes seemed a darker shade than normal, but he had his natural bored expression on, which meant he was sincere.

"Whatever you say" I muttered, a bit annoyed. I got up and met Ash halfway back, and he presented the berry, which I placed in the basket we had been given.

"You know, Kalos is pretty cool" Ash said. "I can't wait to begin adventuring. You'll join me, right Serena?"

"Join you on an adventure?" I blinked at him, a bit confused. He had told me about his adventures in his other regions, but I was a bit surprised he wanted me to go on one with him

"Of course. It would be more fun that way" He replied

"It's a deal then. Maybe this time I can actually explore around the cities for real, and I can show you to where the gyms are"

"We're going back now" Calem stood up, holding the black berry he had been examining

"What about the berries?" I pointed out

"We have ten different types. There's no way anyone else has more" Calem said, walking away without another word

"Is he always like this?" Ash whispered

"Not really" I answered

"Are you guys coming of not?" Calem called back just before going out of view

We walked in silence, trying to catch up to Calem until Ash asked, "By the way Serena, have you figured out what you want to do yet?"

"Not yet. My mom wants me to do Rhyhorn racing, but I don't think that's my thing" I said

"Rhyhorn racing?" Ash raised an eyebrow; his confused expression was cute.

"It's where you ride on a Rhyhorn and compete in races. It's suppose to be fun, but I don't like it all that much" I explained. "If you want to come by on the weekend though, I can teach you"

"Sure!" Ash agreed excitingly and I giggled

**.**

Seventh period, Pokemon Performing, is when it started to go downhill. We were placed into groups of three, and by coincidence I was paired up with Ash and Calem. The goal was for us to create a group performance, and in a few months we would perform it.

"I hope you know what you're doing" Calem told Ash

"I'm sure I'll be fine"

"You better be" He nodded

"Take it easy Calem; he's new" I said

"You know that I hate losing" Calem narrowed his eyes at me

"I'm well aware" I folded my arms across my chest

"Speaking of losing" Calem turned to Ash. "How about a rematch?"

"Sounds good to me" Ash agreed

I sighed as I followed the two outside to the battlefield. They split off and took their spots on opposite sides of the field. If Calem was planning to battle seriously, then I wasn't sure if Ash had a shot at winning.

"One-on-one, normal rules" Calem pulled out a Pokeball. It didn't have a dent on it, so it didn't contain that Pokemon.

"Staraptor, I choose you!" Ash tossed his Pokeball up, revealing a Pokemon I hadn't seen before

I pulled out my Pokedex and scanned it. "Staraptor has a savage nature; It will courageously challenge foes that are much larger than it. The muscles in its wings and legs are strong; It can easily fly while gripping a small Pokémon." the dex explained

Calem tossed up his Pokeball, sending out Pidgeot. Immediately afterwards, he pulled out his key stone and Mega Evolved his Pokemon.

"Mega Evolution right off the bat" a voice behind me said, and Jason walked up next to me. "Looks like he's trying to prove something"

The battle begun.

"Aren't you supposed to be with Aria?" I questioned

"Thought I would come watch the battle; it might be interesting" Jason replied

Staraptor charged forward using Aerial Ace, but Mega Pidgeot avoided it and counterattacked with Wing Attack.

"Use Hyper Beam!" Calem commanded

"Staraptor, stop that with your own Hyper Beam!" Ash instructed

Both Pokemon halted in the air and began to gather up energy. The white particles of energy going into Mega Pidgeot were noticeably larger though. Both Pokemon finished charging at the same time and fired their attacks, which closed in the center. They struggled for a couple of moments until Pidgeot's attack pushed through and hit Staraptor, covering him in a cloud of smoke.

"Don't tell me you actually thought you could cancel out Pidgeot's Hyper Beam" Calem taunted

"Staraptor, use Aerial Ace!" Ash continued

"Pidgeot, Giga Impact!" Calem countered

A white glow surrounded both flying-type Pokemon, and they charged forward, slamming into each other. Pidgeot came out victorious, sending Staraptor crashing down into the ground.

"Now use Brave Bird" Calem pressured

"Dodge it Staraptor!" Ash exclaimed

An aura of blue flames surrounded Mega Pidgeot, and he charged towards the ground. Staraptor was unable to get up in time, and was forced to take another attack.

"Pidgeot, Steel Wing!"

Mega Pidegot's wings turned to steel, and he glided forward just as Staraptor got up, slamming both wings into him.

"Looks like Calem isn't playing around" Jason said

"I think he's being too harsh" I scowled

"Use Brave Bird!" Ash said

"Dodge and attack with Brave Bird" Calem replied

Staraptor slowly got back up and surrounded himself in an aura of blue flames, using his remaining power to charged up at Pidgeot, who used the same moved and charged at him; Pidgeot moved out of the way last second and used the momentum to slam into Staraptor from behind.

"Hyper Beam" Calem said

Pidgeot quickly charged up a Hyper Beam and fired it; the attack collided with Staraptor and sent him crashing down into the ground, causing an explosion upon impact. When the dust from the attack cleared, Staraptor had fainted.

Calem smirked. "I guess you aren't as powerful as I thought you were. Pidgeot, use Hyper Beam again"

"Wait, what?" a thousand thoughts raced my mind

To me, it all happened so fast. Mega Pidgeot fired Hyper Beam at an unconscious Staraptor, but the attack was stopped by a Flamethrower. In seconds, Jason's black Charizard was above Mega Pidgeot, and he used Fire Punch to send him crashing into the ground besides Staraptor.

"Relax, it wasn't going to actually hit" Calem said, returning his Pokemon. "Pidgeot knows better"

"Thanks Staraptor, return" Ash called, sounding a bit shaken up

"Good battle Ash, but if you want a shot at beating me, you'll need to work extra hard" Calem tried to walk past us, but I tugged on his sleeve while Jason and Ash made their way back inside

"What was that for?" I demanded

"I just wanted to see what would have happened" Calem shrugged

"And what if Charizard hadn't stopped the attack?"

"It wouldn't have hit"

I narrowed my eyes. "You're definitely not fine"

"Fine, I'll act 'normal' then" Calem held his hands up in surrender

"Good" I let go of his sleeve and headed back inside with him

**.**

Time went by quickly after that, and the bell rang, which signaled the end of class. I had been in a daydream, so by the time the realization hit me, the bell had rung a whole minute ago and I was the last one out of class. It also meant Ash and Gary were probably wondering where I was.

I stood up from a table in the corner of the classroom and made my way to the door, but for some I reason I stopped when I heard a conversation behind the stage. Out of pure curiosity, I peaked to see Jason leaning up against the wall with his arms crossed, and Aria sitting on a table in front of him.

"I can't be totally sure" Jason said

"But it's not like it matters anyways" Aria pointed out, stirring something inside a cup

"It's better I just get it over with, even if it's just a small chance"

Instead of listening on, I shrugged it off and headed outside of the school to find Ash and Gary looking around with confused looks on their faces.

"Oh, there you are Serena" Ash said, greeting me with a smile

"Sorry, just got held back a minute" I apologized, and we walked home, trying to pretend like nothing had happened


	10. Chapter Ten: Hide, Seek, & Battle

**Ash** **/** **August** **17th**

**The** **first** **week** **of** **school** **went** **by** **pretty** **fast,** **much** **to** **my** **relief.** Today I was suppose to go with Gary and Serena to Santalune City for my first gym battle in Kalos, but first we decided to check if anything was happening on the news.

"You never know when something big is happening" Serena pointed out as Gary turned the Tv on

For a few moments, we didn't see context, but we were watching an aerial view on Lumiose City, and there were explosions raging across the city.

"Holy Arceus, what's going on?" Gary asked

"For those of you just tuning in, there's been a special announcement made by the legendary trainer X" the news reporter said.

"Special announcement?" I questioned

"X?" Gary added

The screen flickered and we were now looking at a white throne with several steps leading up to it. The room around it was nearly pitch black, but you could see the silhouette of X's dark robe sitting on the throne.

"Citizens of Lumiose City, I hereby challenge you to the X Games" X announced, spreading out his arms. "Around the city, you'll find my Pokemon scattered around. Defeat them, and you'll earn clues to the location of this throne. When you get to me, you'll have the opportunity to battle me, and if your good enough, you'll last more than a couple of seconds. Good luck, the games begin now"

"Those explosions must be people trying to battle X's Pokemon" Serena guessed

I stood up eagerly. "I've got it! How about we go and and give it a shot"

"Pika!" Pikachu seemed to agree

"Do you really think we could take down X's Pokemon?" Serena asked

"We won't know unless we try" I said

"If we're going, then we should leave now" Gary suggested. "With that many trainers, it's only a matter of time until X's Pokemon go down"

**.**

As soon as we arrive in Lumiose City, we noticed that it looked absolutely nothing like what it had on TV. There was no one in sight, and there were areas where there had clearly been a Pokemon battle.

"I guess everyone gave up" Gary said

"Or they won" Serena said

We walked through the city, passing by abandoned shops and a park, where there should have been wild Pokemon.

"Thank Arceus you guys are here!" a familiar voice called out, and we turned to our left to see Clemont and Bonnie jogging over

"Clemont? What happened here?" Serena inquired

"The battles been going on for about a half hour, but they all gave up and now everyone is hiding" He answered, nearly out of breath

"That means its up to us" Gary pulled out a Pokeball

"You guys are seriously going to try and win the games?" Bonnie questioned

Suddenly, Pikachu turned around and jumped off my shoulder, firing a Thunderbolt off. We turned just in time to see it collide with a dark-type attack, and the following explosion left the enemy Pokemon unclear.

"Who knows, maybe it'll be fun" Gary tossed his Pokeball out, releasing Nidoqueen

The smoke cleared, and we spotted a Bisharp approaching us with a determined look on its face.

"Nidoqueen, use Shadow Ball!" Gary commanded

"Pikachu, Electro Ball!" I added

Our Pokemon charged up balls of energy and shot them forward; Bisharp fired a Flash Cannon and cancelled the moves out, once again setting off an explosion that blocked our field of view. Before we could react, Bisharp ran out of the smoke and used Metal Claw to uppercut Pikachu, sending him flying back.

"Use Poison Jab!" Gary quickly reacted

Nidoqueen lunged forward, her fist glowing purple, but Bisharp reacted quickly again and used a perfectly timed Guillotine, knocking out Gary's Pokemon in one attack. Pikachu recovered and dashed forward, hitting Bisharp in the head with an Iron Tail, sending him stumbling back a few feet.

"I'll help you guys out too" Clemont offered, throwing up a Pokeball, which released a Luxray. "Use Wild Charge!"

A massive aura of electricity exploded out of Luxray, and he charged forward at the enemy; Bisharp stayed stationary and managed to stop Luxray in his tracks by grabbing his front legs and tossing him to the side.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" I said, and Pikachu quickly reacted, firing a jolt of electricity that managed to electrocute Bisharp

"This guy's tough" Gary called back Nidoqueen and released his next Pokemon, Umbreon. "Use Dark Pulse!"

Both Bisharp and Umbreon fired a Dark Pulse at each other; they collided in the center, struggling at first for control, until Luxray fired a Thunderbolt at Bisharp, which stunned him, allowing Dark Pulse to hit as well.

"You guys did it!" Bonnie celebrated

"I'm impressed" Serena admitted, which made me a little proud

A strong gust of wind cleared the smoke, and Bisharp emerged unscathed, a green glow surrounding him.

"We didn't even do a single bit of damage" Gary sighed as our Pokemon returned to our side

"X's Bisharp has a reputation for being nearly indestructible" Clemont informed

"But there has to be some kind of weakness" I insisted

"The green glow around him comes from the move Protect. Somehow, X is able to manipulate that move so it creates a permanent shield around Bisharp" Clemont said

"Then we'll just have to break the shield. Pikachu, use Quick Attack!" I continued

A glow white glow encompassed Pikachu and he dashed forward, slamming into Bisharp, but doing nothing more than make him slide back.

"Use Iron Tail!" Gary said

"And Luxray, use Wild Charge again!" Clemont backed up

Bisharp began to charge up a Flash Cannon, and Umbreon and Luxray took off towards him; Flash Cannon was fired down towards the middle of them, but they quickly moved out of the way. Luxray jumped up and attempted to pounce onto Bisharp, but was hit by Metal Claw and deflected off. Umbreon came in next, flipping in the air and going for an Iron Tail, but Bisharp blocked using his forearm and pushed him off.

"Not only is super durable, he's also fast" Clemont said

"It's a good thing I brought back up then" I tossed up two Pokeballs that released Charizard and Sceptile. "We'll break the shield with one all out attack"

"In that case, I'll help too" Serena released Fennekin. "Use Flamethrower!"

"Alright Umbreon, use Dark Pulse at max power!" Gary said

"Luxray, use Thunderbolt!" Clemont added on

"Charizard, use Flamethrower; Sceptile, use Solar Beam; Pikachu, Electro Ball!" I instructed

All of our Pokemon charged up their moves and fired them off in unison. The attacks merged into one beam of energy, and Bisharp put up a Protect shield. Our combined moves hit the shield, and quickly began to crack it until it shattered, causing off an explosion that swallowed us all up.

When the smoke cleared, we were all coughing and struggling to see the results of our attack. My vision came back to me a few moments later, and Bisharp was still standing, but heavily injured.

"Looks like we did some good damage" Serena said, brushing dust off her clothes

"It's still not over yet" Gary pointed to the side of Bisharp, where a Druddigon emerged from an alleyway. From the other side, an unfamiliar Pokemon floated out, so I scanned it with the Pokedex.

"Dragalge, the Mock Kelp Pokemon - a dragon-and-poison-type. Their poison is strong enough to eat through the hull of a tanker, and they spit it indiscriminately at anything that enters their territory. Tales are told of ships that wander into seas where Dragalge live, never to return" the dex explained

"I've never seen that Pokemon before" Serena pointed to Druddigon, before scanning it with her own Pokedex

"Druddigon, the Cave Pokemon - a pure dragon-type. It warms its body by absorbing sunlight with its wings. When its body temperature falls, it can no longer move. It races through narrow caves, using its sharp claws to catch prey. The skin on its face is harder than a rock"

"Now there's three of them, and you guys were already having difficulty with one of them" Bonnie said

Druddigon trudged forward a couple of steps before firing a Dragon Pulse; a Flamethrower came from up in the sky and intercepted it halfway, setting off a small explosion. We looked up just in time to see a familiar black Charizard appear from the bright sunlight and land halfway between us and the enemy Pokemon. Druddigon lunged forward using Dragon Claw, but Charizard swooped to the side and hit him in the hip with a Fire Punch, staggering him back.

"So these are X's Pokemon" Jason joined us. "You all can go home now, I'm taking it from here"

"But we're here to win" Gary replied

"Good luck without the hints" Jason said, placing two fingers onto his silver wrist band which contained his key stone. Charizard Mega Evolved and changed into the purple Mega Charizard Y.

"Not if we get them first" Gary returned Umbreon and released Blastoise. "Use Hydro Pump on Druddigon!"

"No chance. Charizard, Overheat Magnetron" Jason commanded

Mega Charizard roared loud enough for us to have to block our eyes with our hands. The ground began to crack as it shook violently, and the temperature began to rise up. Blastoise fired Hydro Pump from his mouth, but a spike of fire shot out of the ground and blocked it. Bisharp, Druddigon, and Dragalage scattered to avoid the columns of fire shooting out of the ground, and Charizard took advantage by going to each of them hitting them with a Fire Punch.

"Sceptile, use Quick Attack on Bisharp!" I said, returning Charizard

As Bisharp got up from his attack, he was slammed into by Sceptile using Quick Attack and crashed into a tree, fainting.

"Blastoise, Rapid Spin on Dragalage!" Gary exclaimed

"Charizard, double Blast Burn!" Jason said

Entering its shell and spinning rapidly, Blastoise zigzagged through the spikes of fire that were still shooting up. Mega Charizard flew up into the sky and did a few aerial flips before diving down and hitting the ground with Fire Punch in between Blastoise and Dragalage; the ground split open in both directions and both Pokemon were hit by Blast Burn.

"Hey!" Gary protested. "If it's going to be like that, Blastoise, use Hydro Pump on Charizard!"

"Dragon Claw!" Jason countered

Blastoise fired another Hydro Pump from its mouth, but Charizard activated Dragon Claw and destroyed the attack by ripping it open; Charizard flew towards Blastoise, but was hit in the side by a poison-type attack from Dragalage.

"There should still be two other Pokemon somewhere in Lumiose City" Clemont reminded

"Then we'll split up and look for them" I suggested

"You guys go, I'm finish things up here" Gary said

We nodded and headed off in the opposite direction. I took once last glance back to see Mega Charizard exchanging fists with Druddigon, and Blastoise attempting to hit Dragalage, who was smoothly dodging its attacks. After about five minutes of searching, we came across a Gengar who immediately attacked us with a Shadow Ball. Pikachu stepped in and sliced the attack in half using Iron Tail; the halves exploded somewhere behind us.

"Luxray, use Thunder Fang!" Clemont said

Baring his teeth, Luxray charged forward and attempted to use Thunder Fang, but Gengar jumped higher than it should have been able to hit it with a Dark Pulse from above.

"Fennekin, Flamethrower!" Serena said

Just as Gengar landed back down on the ground, he was hit by Flamethrower, which did a bit of damage.

"Good timing Serena" I said

"Thanks" She replied, a slight blush appearing across her cheeks

Gengar quickly recovered and lunged forward, but Sceptile intercepted it by slamming into him with Quick Attack, sending him back. Suddenly, the sun retreated into the clouds and the moon came out, casting darkness on us. Mist began to roll in, confusing us all, and we saw Gengar with a ball of energy in between his hands, as if he was causing this.

"It's night time already?" Bonnie asked, sounding a bit frightened

"It looks like Gengar is doing this" Clemont figured

"Sceptile, use Solar Beam using the moonlight" I instructed

Nodding, Sceptile began to gather light energy from the moonlight, but Gengar quickly reacted and hit him with a Shadow Ball. From behind, Luxray tried tackling him using Wild Charge, but he phased right through him.

"Luxray went right through!" Bonnie pointed out

"It's a move called Phantom Force. If timed correctly, it can be really useful on defense" Clemont explained

"Pikachu, use Quick Attack; Sceptile, use Leaf Blade" I said

"Fennekin, help out with Scratch" Serena supported

Pikachu and Fennekin attacked first, but were both nailed by a hard Shadow Punch that knocked them back. Sceptile lunged, landing a slash to Gengar.

"Luxray, use Electric Terrain to clear out the mist" Clemont said as soon the mist began to obstruct our view

Electric shockwaves shot out of Luxray, clearing out the mist, and electricity traveled around the surrounding buildings; the ground became lit up with a yellow glow, and we gained some brightness.

"Fennekin, use Flamethrower!"

"Pikachu, Electro Ball!"

Both Pokemon fired their respective attacks, but a wall made of solidified shadows rose up from the ground and blocked it. Gengar laughed, sending chills up my spine. I glanced over at my friends and saw that, they too, were a bit taken aback.

Then, large hands of shadows rose up from the ground and took ahold of our Pokemon, keeping them off the ground. Gengar shot a Dark Pulse, turning in a complete three-sixty in order to hit each Pokemon.

"This isn't good" Clemont said

"Use Thunderbolt on yourself Pikachu!" I said

"Ash, are you sure about that?" Serena asked

"It'll be fine" I assured

Pikachu sparked up with electricity, and he used Thunderbolt on himself, also electrocuting the hand that held him, and Gengar with it too.

"Luxray, use Thunderbolt on yourself too!" Clemont said

Luxray followed through, electrocuting himself, the hand, and Gengar all in one. The shadow-hands put our Pokemon back down on the ground and retreated.

"It seems that just like Y, X's Pokemon have total control over their elements and moves" Clemont adjusted his glasses

"What a tough opponent, it's making me excited to get these clues and battle him" I said

"Then let's do it" Serena shot a confident look and I nodded


	11. Chapter Eleven: Zero to One Hundred

**Serena**

**I** **think** **I** **had** **found** **out** **my** **least** **favorite** **Pokemon.** After all, I had never really like ghost-types or poison-types - put that together, along with creepiness, and you get Gengar.

"We're not hitting him at all" Clemont frowned, referring to the fact that Gengar was hopping around like a circus performer. When our attacks would hit, he would use Phantom Force, and they would phase straight through.

On top of that, it was still nighttime despite being about around one in the afternoon. Shadow-hands kept arising from the ground, messing with our Pokemon, and Gengar would occasionally laugh creepily.

Ash returned Sceptile and called out Staraptor, while Clemont returned Luxray and brought out his Bunnelby.

"Staraptor, use Brave Bird!"

"Bunnelby, use Mud Shot!"

An aura of blue flames surrounded Staraptor, and he charged at Gengar who decided to stand still. Strategically using Phantom Force, Gengar managed to make Staraptor slam straight into the ground, but was hit by Mud Shot from Bunnelby.

"Now! Flamethrower!" I added, and Fennekin shot an attack that also hit

"So we can beat him, but we'll need perfect timing to do so" Clemont said

Ash turned to me, and I swallowed nervously. "Serena, we'll distract Gengar while you and Fennekin deal the damage"

I nodded, unable to let words out for some reason. It was either the fact that I was scared from all of Gengar's tricks, or Ash really was that cute. Miette had told me that he was "my type" with his messy black hair, and his brown eyes that sparkled every time you looked deeply into them. Not only did I see him as good looking, but I liked that he was confident, brave, and that he never gave up.

Maybe I did have a crush on him.

"Staraptor, use Swift!" Ash said

Staraptor flew higher up and flapped his wings forward, sending stars that missed and exploded against the ground. Gengar jumped onto a building and pushed off that to hit Staraptor with a hard Shadow Punch, sending him crashing to the ground.

"Bunnelby, use Dig!"

Bunnelby quickly burrowed into the ground, using his ears as a drill. Gengar landed on the ground and was met by Dig, getting sent flying into the wall of a shop. Our space, about three-quarters the size of a battlefield, was pretty limited, which meant that Gengar's surprising agility was even more of an annoyance.

Gengar recovered and raised up his small arms, summoning more shadow-hands that hit Bunnelby and Staraptor.

"Use Swift!" I said

Fennekin jumped up and flipped, sending stars of its own towards Gengar that successfully hit and forced him to call back the hands. From out of the smoke caused by Swift, a Shadow Ball collided with Staraptor and took him out for good; Ash called him back.

Heavy footsteps shook the ground, and out of an extremely dark alleyway, a Metagross trudged forward, joining Gengar at his side. From behind us, fast paced footsteps approached, and we turned to see Gary running up.

"Looks like I made it just in time" He said, catching his breath

"What happened?" Ash inquired

"I'll tell you later, but let's just say I got the clues" Gary replied, calling out a Scizor. "Use Bullet Punch!"

Scizor's fist turned to steel, and he flew forward, attempting to hit Gengar; his attack phased straight through as expected, and Meta Gross slammed into him using Meteor Mash, which sent him flying back towards us.

"Gengar can use Phantom Force, a move that allows him to phase through things" Clemont informed Gary

"That's going to be annoying to deal with" He replied

"Tell me about it" I muttered

Suddenly, a bright rainbow-colored glow encompassed both Pokemon, and when it cleared out, both Pokemon had changed.

"They Mega Evolved!" Clemont exclaimed in shock, adjusting his glasses

"Scizor, Flash Cannon!" Gary commanded

White particles of energy began to gather around Scizor, and he fired off a Flash Cannon. Mega Metagross activated Meteor Mash and charged forward, drilling straight through the attack and slamming into Scizor.

"Charizard, I choose you!" Ash tossed up a Pokeball. Charizard came raging out, and he hit Metagross with Dragon Tail.

"Scizor-"

More shadow-hands erupted from the ground and seized Charizard and Scizor before slamming them down into the ground; Metagross began to charge up a Flash Cannon.

"Bunnelby, use Mud Shot on Metagross!" Clemont instructed

"Fennekin, help him out with Flamethrower!" I added

Seconds before Mega Metagross could fire his attack, Mud Shot and Flamethrower collided with him and exploded upon impact. Suddenly, Metagross was hit by something in the smoke and crashed into the ground next to Gengar; a familiar roar followed.

"Stealing those clues from me was pretty smart" Jason admitted as Mega Charizard landed in front of Fennekin

Rain of purple acid came from the sky, and our Pokemon dodged them without command. Dragalge came floating in and took its place next to Metagross, who had recovered with minimal damage, and Gengar.

"This spot is too small for this battle" I pointed out. By now, it had become: Mega Metagross, Mega Gengar, and Dragalge against Mega Charizard, Ash's Charizard, Scizor, Bunnelby, and Fennekin.

"Serena, you might want to step back on this one" Ash suggested

"I can battle too" I insisted

He looked hesitant. "Are you sure?"

I nodded. "I may be new to battling, but I still want to help"

Mega Metagross charged forward using Meteor Mash; Mega Charizard flew at him and cancelled out the attack using Fire Punch. Dragalge sprayed Sludge Bomb, poisoning Fennekin and Ash's Charizard.

"Fennekin, are you alright?" I asked as she slumped down onto the ground, and I knew I had to return her even though I wanted to help. "I guess I have no choice"

"Charizard, use Dragon Claw on Dragalge!" Ash commanded

"Bunnelby, help him with Dig!" Clemont added

"Scizor, hit Gengar until you land an attack" Gary instructed, which I found a bit strange

It didn't take me long to lose track of the battle. Mega Charizard hit Dragalge with a Fire Punch, and Ash's Charizard helped him with Dragon Claw. Metagross used Meteor Mash again and slammed into Scizor before he could land a Bullet Punch on Gengar.

Mega Charizard curved around and attempted an attack on Mega Gengar, but phased straight through. Dragalge faced the sky and shot another attack that sprayed acid down onto all of the Pokemon.

"Scizor, use Giga Impact on Metagross!" Gary said

Gengar avoided another attack from Mega Charizard and jumped up into the air, hitting Scizor with a Shadow Punch before he could attack; Metagross used Psychic and forced Bunnelby to slam into Scizor.

"Charizard, Flamethrower on Metagross!" Ash said

Charizard fired its attack on Metagross, but Gengar deflected it with Shadow Punch. Bunnelby recovered and fired Mud Shot, hitting Mega Gengar when it wasn't looking. Dragalage hit Charizard with a Dragon Tail and sent him crashing into a wall, before also hitting him with Shadow ball.

Scizor came rushing in and hit Dragalage with two Bullet Punches; Metagross used Icy Wing, pushing back Scizor and dealing additional damage. Up above, Mega Charizard fired a powerful, violet-colored Flamethrower that hit Metagross and set off an explosion.

"Scizor, X-Scissor!" Gary continued

Dragalge tried to move out of the way of X-Scissor, but Bunnelby hit it with an unexpected Dig and caused him to stumble, so Scizor successfully slammed into him while spinning like a drill. More shadow-hands arose from the ground, but Pikachu jumped into the battle and electrocuted one of them, effectively hitting all of them and Gengar.

"Pikachu, use Quick Attack on Dragalge; Charizard, focus on Gengar!" Ash said

Glowing white, Pikachu dashed forward and slammed into Dragalge before he could shoot an attack at Bunnelby. Charizard attempted to grab Gengar, but he phased right through again and was hit by a hard Shadow Punch. Mega Charizard landed behind Gengar, shaking the ground, and used Fire Punch to send him crashing into Dragalge.

Mega Metagross floated back up and charged up Flash Cannon, unbeknownst to everyone, and ended up hitting Mega Charizard with it. Ash's Charizard lunged, activating Dragon Tail and aerial-flipping forward to bring his tail down onto Metagross, which slammed him down onto the ground.

A shadow-hand lifted up from the ground and grabbed Charizard, squeezing him tight and lifting him up before slamming him down onto the ground vigorously. Mega Charizard swooped out of the smoke from having been hit by Flash Cannon, and uppercutted Dragalge with a Fire Punch, knocking him out for good.

"They got one!" Bonnie jumped excitingly

"Looks like they're winning" I said

"Charizard, Blast Burn!" Jason commanded

Mega Charizard flew high up into the sky and then curved back downwards at subsonic speeds, smashing his fist into the ground. The ground cracked towards Mega Gengar and Mega Metagross, and Blast Burn hit them unexpectedly, setting off another explosion. The smoke cleared and both Pokemon reverted back to normal, fainting.

"That should do it" Gary exhaled, returning Scizor

**.**

The clues were each tied to the Pokemon, so we had to walk over and remove them from each one. Put together, it was a picture of the cathedral not too far away from the Pokemon Center we had gone to recover our Pokemon.

"Now all we have to do is go and fight X" Gary said

"Are you coming too Jason? You were a pretty big help" Ash asked

Jason shook his head. "I didn't actually want to battle X; it's practically suicide"

"How about you Serena?" Ash turned to me. "You said you wanted to help after all"

"I think I'll pass on this one" I drastically waved my hands in denial, laughing nervously

"Then it's too the cathedral" Clemont said and we all nodded

**.**

We arrived at the cathedral, and I quickly realized that I wasn't mentally prepared.

When we entered, it was extremely dark, but I could see the silhouette of X. Sunlight finally came in through the window on the left, and we could fully make out X sitting at the bottom of the steps.

"So you've defeated my Pokemon" X said

"That's right" Gary replied confidently

"And now you've come to challenge me" X stood up. He was wearing his black robe, and you could see nothing but darkness inside the hood. "I hope you aren't pushovers. It would be a shame for you to come this far just to get wiped out"

Bonnie and I stayed at the entrance while Ash, Gary, and Clemont closed a few feet of space in-between them and space.

"Choose your Pokemon wisely" X tossed up a Pokeball, releasing a Lucario with black-iron gauntlets on his arms

"Charizard, I choose you!" Ash said

"Blastoise, it's your turn!" Gary said

"Luxray, come on out!" Clemont said

Nothing happened for a few moments, and the suspense started to get to me. Suddenly, the battle broke out.

"Lucario, Shadow Ball!" X commanded

"Charizard, stop that with Flamethrower!" Ash defended

"Blastoise, use Hydro Pump afterwards" Gary said

Lucario jumped up and fired a Shadow Ball from his hand; Charizard fired Flamethrower in attempt to stop it, but Shadow Ball burst straight through and hit all three Pokemon. Blastoise stepped out of the smoke and shot Hydro Pump out of his mouth, but Lucario used Bone Rush to deflect it by twirling his bone.

"Use Power-Up Punch!" X said

"Luxray, Wild Charge!" Clemont replied

Both Pokemon charged at each other, but Lucario extended out his arm and hit Luxray before he could be hit, and sent him crashing into a pillar inside the cathedral. Charizard lunged forward but Lucario jumped over him and hit Blastoise with another Power-Up Punch.

"Use Flamethrower again!" Ash said

Charizard fired another Flamethrower from behind, but Lucario managed to turn around and stop it with one hand. Blastoise attacked using Rapid Spin, but Lucario once again turned around and grabbed ahold of him. It took a couple of moments, but he managed to stop Blastoise's momentum and throw him against another pillar.

"Dragon Tail!" Ash persevered

"Use Thunderbolt!" Clemont added

Luxray got up and fired a Thunderbolt, and Lucario used Bone Rush to block it; Charizard came charging in, but was vigorously smacked in the head by Lucario's bone. Blastoise quickly lunged using Skull Bash, but Lucario nonchalantly moved to the side and avoid it; Blastoise hit the ground.

All three Pokemon recovered and charged at once from different angles, but Lucario spread out his arms and sent a shockwave that stunned them in the air.

"Flash Cannon!" X exclaimed

Lucario fired two Flash Cannons, one from each arm, and knocked out both Luxray and Blastoise simultaneously. Clemont and Gary returned their Pokemon and released a Golem and a Chespin respectively.

Charizard confidently charged in again, but Lucario ducked underneath his Dragon Claw and hit square in the gut, knocking him out. Ash called back Charizard and replaced him with Infernape.

"Use Mach Punch!" Ash said

"Chespin, use Pin Missile!" Clemont said

"Golem, use Giga Impact!" Gary backed up

Infernape's fist glowed white, and he dashed forward. He shot his fist forward at the enemy's face, but Lucario smacked it away with one hand and used the other to uppercut him. Golem curled up into a ball before rolling forward insanely fast; Lucario activated Bone Rush and hit Golem like a tennis player would to a ball, and sent him crashing into Infernape.

Pin Missile was seconds away from hitting, but the attack froze midair and exploded before contact. Lucario dashed out of the smoke and hit Infernape with a frenzy of Power-Up Punches which knocked him out in moments.

"Golem, use Fire Blast!" Gary said

Recovering slowly, Golem fired a Fire Blast that missed as Lucario jumped over it and came crashing down, hitting him with a Bone Rush to the head. Ash called back Infernape and released Sceptile, who immediately went forth with Quick Attack.

Lucario baited Sceptile, moving at the last second and causing him to slam into Golem, knocking him out. Gary called him back and sent out Nidoqueen, who lunged with Poison Jab; Lucario stepped to the side and grabbed her wrist, stopping her before picking her up and throwing her across the cathedral.

"Chespin, use Vine Whip!" Clemont said

Chespin's head-spikes extended out and attempted to hit Lucario, who grabbed onto them and began to spin in a three-sixty. He released and sent Chespin crashing into Nidoqueen, knocking him out.

"Looks like I'm out of Pokemon" Clemont called Chespin back

"Nidoqueen, use Earthquake!" Gary said

"Sceptile, use Leaf Blade!" Ash added

Nidoqueen began to stomp on the ground, making it shake heavily. Lucario still managed to avoid Sceptile's Leaf Blade, hitting him with a Power-Up Punch in the hip as he did. He quickly turned and pitched a Shadow Ball like a baseball player; the attack collided with Nidoqueen, knocking her out.

"I'm out too" Gary sighed disappointingly

"Sceptile, repeated Quick Attack!" Ash instructed

Glowing white, Sceptile nodded and dashed forward; Lucario activated Bone Rush and twirled a bone over his head before bringing it down onto the ground. It cracked and sent dust out, which blinded Sceptile and stopped him in place. Lucario lunged forward and hit him with two vigorous Power-Up Punches, finishing him off.

Ash called Sceptile back, and Pikachu hopped off his shoulder - the last Pokemon.

"Currently, my Pokemon are back up and on the look out for trainers" X revealed. "They can stay hiding, but if they wish to come out, they'll be forced to fight my Pokemon"

"Why are you doing this?" Ash demanded

"Because I can" X waved his hand. "Lucario, Shadow Ball!"

"Pikachu, use Iron Tail!" Ash quickly responded

Lucario pitched another Shadow Ball and Pikachu barely managed to slice it in half with Iron Tail.

"Defeat me and I'll call them back" X said

"Use Quick Attack!" Ash exclaimed

Pikachu dashed forward, glowing white. Lucario charged at him and uppercutted him with Bone Rush, which sent him upwards; he jumped into the air and slammed him back down with his fists before landing and sledgehammering a Shadow Ball down onto Pikachu, setting off a mini-explosion. The smoke cleared, and Pikachu had already fainted.

"I'm having trouble believing that you weaklings were the ones who defeated my Pokemon" X said as Lucario lifted up Pikachu by the tail.

"What's your goal?" Gary asked

"My wish to rid the world of weak Pokemon like the ones you've displayed to me" X answered. "So I'll begin with this one"

"Don't do it!" Ash pleaded

"It's not right!" Clemont added

"I can't watch" Bonnie hid her face in her hands

"Lucario, use Flash Cannon, no holding back" X coldly said

A white sphere on energy appeared in Lucario's hand, ready to release Flash Cannon, and we all shut our eyes in fear.

"That's enough" a voice said, coming somewhere off to the side. We opened our eyes and turned to the left, where Y stepped out of the bright sunlight and into the cathedral.


	12. Chapter Twelve: Once In a Lifetime

**Serena**

"So you've actually decided to come and compete in my games, Y!" X said. Lucario tossed Pikachu back over, and Ash caught him, which visibly relaxed all of us. "I'm quite surprised; I didn't think you would have any interest in it"

Having both X and Y in the same room brought a strange feeling - tenseness. It felt like at any moment, chaos could break out.

"It's not about the games" Y replied. He had his usual look on - metal armor, a golden cape, and a bandana that left part of his hair and his eyes exposed, with a hood on over it. On his back, he had his four staffs, all different shapes. "If you call back your Pokemon, you might be able to play it off as a game still"

"Don't make me laugh, you didn't come here to be the good guy" X chuckled. "No. You came here so we could finally settle who the strongest trainer in Kalos, no... the world, is"

"You're going to regret this" Y warned, removing a curved staff

"Am I dreaming, or are we really about to watch X and Y battle?" I said as Ash and the others joined us at the entrance

"I can't believe it either" Gary said

Y thrusted his staff into the ground, and a Blaziken came out, with an eyepatch and metal gauntlets identical to that of Lucario's, except in silver. "Last chance, X"

"Come and show me just how much stronger I am!" X decided

"Blaziken, use Fist of Zeus!" Y began

"Lucario, use God Slayer!" X countered

Blaziken's fist began to circulate with tons of electrical energy; shadows casted by things inside the cathedral began to be absorbed by Lucario's fist, which was radiating with dark energy. The Pokemon lunged at each other, and their fists clashed, instantly shattering all of the windows to the cathedral.

"It's actually happening" Clemont said in disbelief

"I thought it might never" Bonnie added

Y waved his staff. "Use Ghostly Flames"

A green circle of light appeared underneath Lucario, and vines made of green fire rose up from the ground, wrapping around him and squeezing him tightly.

"Now use Dragon Fist" Y said

"Lucario! Aura Rush!" X demanded

An intense wave of aura shot out of Lucario, releasing him from the fire-vines. The two Pokemon once again clashed fists, but this time for more than once. The pillars upholding the cathedral began to crack at the bottom, which meant the entire building might collapse from the fight.

Blaziken backflipped a couple of times to put distance before lunging forward and nailing Lucario in the gut with his fist, which sent him crashing into a pillar. Lucario quickly recovered and did the same, sending Blaziken rolling back across the ground.

"What's the point in this battle if we don't intend to go all out?" X asked

"You and I both the know the consequences of doing so" Y answered

"What consequences! This is a battle to prove who the strongest trainer in the world is!" X shouted

"You've ruled out all of the champions" Y pointed out

"The champions are all weak before us. Why do you think they haven't bothered challenging us again? Because they know their place" X said

"Did he say again?" Ash asked

"X has defeated both Champion Lance and Champion Cynthia in a two-on-one battle; Y's beaten Steven Stone in record time" I explained

Y returned Blaziken back into the staff, which he put back onto his back in favor of another one - a golden staff with a dragon's mouth at the tip, and curves going down to the bottom. He thrusted it into the ground, and another unfamiliar Pokemon came out.

"Haxorus, the Axe Jaw Pokemon - a pure dragon-type. They are kind but can be relentless when defending territory; they challenge foes with tusks that can cut steel, and are covered in hard armor. Their sturdy tusks will stay sharp even if used to cut steel beams"

"Ah yes, the famed Haxorus" X called back Lucario and released another Pokemon. "I've always wanted to have this matchup"

"I really need to learn my Pokemon" I sighed, scanning X's Pokemon with the Pokedex

"Garchomp, the Mach Pokemon - a dragon-and-ground-type. When it folds up its body and extends its wings, it looks like a jet plane and can fly at sonic speeds. The protuberances on its head serve as sensors. It can even detect distant prey"

"Garchomp, use Dragon Power!" X commanded

"Haxorus, use Triple Slash Dance" Y said

Lunging forward, Haxorus became nothing more than a strike of purple that hit Garchomp three times in less than a second. However, when he reappeared, he was hit by Dragon Power - a column of flames that shot out of the ground and burnt him.

"Use Seismic Crunch!" Y continued

Haxorus smashed both its arms into the ground, and two large pillars - one from the roof of the cathedral, and one from under Garchomp - shot out, smashing the enemy Pokemon in between them, reducing to rubble after.

"Use Mercury Slash!" X said

Garchomp recovered midair and used rubble off the rock pillars to shoot forward, slashing Haxorus on the way, and landing behind him. Both Pokemon turned to face each other, a determined look on their faces.

"Master would be disappointed" Y said

"That old fool didn't know what was best for him. He had all the power to shape my dream world, but be threw it away for 'justice'" X replied

"You're still not an adult but you wish to change the world"

"Age is nothing but a number here"

"Did he just say X wasn't an adult yet?" Gary said

"That would be implying he's about our age" Serena pointed out

"And clearly they've know each other for a long time based on the way they're talking" Clemont said

"This battle is over" Y called back Haxorus and placed his staff onto his back along with the other three.

"If you refuse to fight, then I'll destroy all of Lumiose City" X threatened, returning Garchomp and pulling out another Pokeball

There was a momentary silence until Y spoke again, "Very well. I'll show you power that you've never seen before"

"That's more like!" X tossed his Pokeball forward, revealing a Pokemon that made me blink a few times

"I-It can't be" Clemont fixed his glasses

I used the dex to scan it. "Deoxys, the DNA Pokemon - a pure psychic-type. The DNA of a space virus underwent a sudden mutation upon exposure to a laser beam and resulted in DEOXYS. The crystalline organ on this Pokémon's chest appears to be its brain. It is highly intelligent, wields psychokinetic powers, and can change forms at will"

"So you really found him after all of these years" Y removed the wing-tipped staff, thrusting it into the ground which brought out his Charizard

"He and I share the same goals; it's a match made in heaven" X said

"I've heard about this Pokemon before. It's suppose to be really powerful, but I didn't know that X had it..." I said

"Deoxys, use Magnetic Screwer" X commanded

Between Deoxys's four arms, a silver ball of energy formed that began to suck everything in the room towards it. The pillars upholding the room began to collapse, and even we were being dragged towards it. Y's Charizard flew up towards the roof of the cathedral, unaffected by the move and fired a blast of fire that hit Deoxys, creating an explosion and stopping the move.

The smoke cleared, and Deoxys had changed into its Defense-Form, uninjured from the attack. I remember having studied this Pokemon before in a school project. It had once been a super classified Pokemon, but it was revealed to the public eventually, and I had decided to familiarize myself with it.

A portal opened up in the roof of the cathedral, showing the outside, and Deoxys floated through it. Charizard quickly followed after, and we all ran outside to see the two Pokemon engaging in battle in the sky.

"This isn't good. At this rate, they really might just destroy the entire city" Clemont said

Charizard hit Defense-Form Deoxys with an all out punch that sent it flying back. Grey storm clouds began to roll in up above, and thunder boomed in the distance. Deoxys changed into its Speed-Form and blitzed Charizard with a frenzy of strikes that had an x-shaped afterimage.

Footsteps - we were standing just twenty feet away from the cathedral - came from our left, and we saw Y approaching us. "I'm sorry; this is my fault"

"Your fault?" Ash asked

"I heard about the games and chose to do nothing until now. I should have stopped this before it got out of hand" Y said. "Now it may be too late"

Charizard slashed with Dragon-Claw, but Deoxys changed into a large orb and slammed into him. Recovering quickly, Charizard used Fire Punch - or a variation of it; it was composed of golden flames - and slammed the orb down into the ground, somewhere we couldn't see. Smoke arose from the sight, and Deoxys used its Speed-Form to jet back up to the sky.

"It's been years since we battled like this" X said, standing at the entrance of the cathedral. "Have you gotten weaker? Last time we seemed evenly matched, but this time..."

Deoxys changed into its Defense-Form and tanked a frenzy of punches from Charizard, taking no damage at all; Charizard fired a pointblank Flamethrower composed of white flames that did nothing more then reflect off of Deoxys.

"You guys have fought before?" I inquired

"There is much that people don't know about us" Y simply said

Deoxys changed into its Attack-Form and attempted to strike using Thunder Punch, but Charizard narrowly flew back and avoided it. The two exchanged blows, neither able to land a hit on the other, though Deoxys seemed to be gaining the edge over time.

"Where's the power that I've never seen before?" X asked. "Are you really that afraid of the consequences?"

"If you choose to ignore the consequences of our battle in order to harm others, then I will do so to protect" Y pulled out a stone with multiple colors and made a fist around it. Charizard backed up and paused the battle as a beam of light shot out of the stone, connecting with him.

I thought Charizard had transformed into the sun, because it became too bright for me too look at in a few seconds. When I felt the heat and light die down, I looked back up to see Charizard had Mega Evolved. It looked just like Mega Charizard Y, except there was a light aura of fire around it, and chains of golden flames flowed out the sides of its mouth. On top of that, all of the injuries it had sustained from the battle had been healed.

"So you Mega Evolved him, but you haven't..." X said. "He's come along way from that Charmander; this is definitely something else. Even though you've attained great power, Deoxys will dismantle him"

Deoxys changed back into its natural form and charged, using Ice Punch in one hand and Thunder Punch in the other; Charizard stayed in place, catching both punches and firing another pointblank Flamethrower that sent Deoxys crashing into the wall of a tall building. Changing into its Speed Form, Deoxys slashed through him in the blink of an eye, reappearing behind him as he staggered.

Charizard shot a purposefully weak Flamethrower; Deoxys dodged, and was caught off guard by a hard attack that punched straight through him. Lightning circulated around Deoxys as it backed up, a hole in its chest. I thought it might have been the end of the fight, but the hole simply regenerated and the two continued to tussle It out.

"Deoxys, use Vortex of Abaddon!" X ordered

"You fool, that'll destroy the entire city" Y said, sounding strangely calm

"Can he really hear X from all the way down here?" Gary questioned

"Deoxys is a psychic-type, so I wouldn't doubt it" Clemont replied

I about to say something, but I stopped as the feeling of being ripped apart was felt through out my whole body. Deoxys raised both its arms, and a massive ball of dark energy formed. The thunder boomed harder, lightning began to circulate some of the taller buildings, and the breeze began to blow intensely.

Deoxys turned and looked right at me, before sending the energy ball forward.


	13. Chapter Thirteen: The Bonds That Tie Us

**Serena**

**You** **know** **when** **you** **wake** **up** **from** **a** **nightmare** **or** **a** **bad** **dream,** **and** **your** **glad** **that** **it** **was** **over?** I felt that too when I woke up, but then I realized that I wasn't in my bed, or in my room.

Standing up - somehow I was completely uninjured - the first thing I noticed was the cathedral and a few of the surrounding buildings that had been reduced to rubble. All of what had happened between X and Y came back to me, and I was unsure of how much time had passed. The storm clouds had retreated, and there was an ironically, bright sunlight casted down onto the only part of Lumiose City that seemed harmed from the attack.

Looking around, I noticed that I couldn't spot neither my friends nor Y. Instinctively, I headed towards the rubble, which had previously been the cathedral, and began to look around. There was a shaking sound, and I watched as a large chunk of rock was pushed off the ground. I stopped as the black-robed X stood up, with his back faced towards me. His hood was down, and his clothes were tattered.

"What the heck happened here" He said; his voice was different. In fact, it was familiar.

I froze in place and inhaled sharply as he turned around, and our eyes met. "Y-Your X?"

"It's not what it looks like" He insisted, though sounding sincere

"Well then you better start explaining" I demanded

He began to walk closer, but I was still stuck in place from the shock; he paused when we were shoulder to shoulder, facing opposite directions. "There's too little time, and I have to go, but I'll explain later. I promise"

A single tear, that I was relieved he didn't see, dripped down my cheek, and I wasn't able to move until his footsteps completely disappeared into the distance, and a different voice brought me out of my trance.

"Serena!" Ash called, somewhere off to my right. I turned and saw him waving, with Gary, Clemont, and Bonnie next to him, all uninjured as well.

I quickly wiped the tear and put on a half-fake smile as I carefully descended the rubble and the steps; they met me halfway.

"Glad to see your alright Serena" Ash said

"Yeah, you too" my half-fake smile turned into a full one. "But what happened anyways? Last thing I remember was getting wiped out by Deoxys"

"Y's Charizard managed to nullify most of the attack using some kind of move" Gary answered. "When we woke up, we were kind of far from here, and Y was gone, so we had to run back"

"I assume that because Deoxys was aiming right for you, that you were left back here with all the rubble" Clemont said

I thought about telling them who X was, but I thought I would wait to hear out his explanation.

**.**

The rest of the day went by pretty slowly. X and all of his Pokemon disappeared, and we decided against telling authorities that he had been behind all of it. Why? Probably because we were scared of the consequences. That seemed to be a pretty big idea recently - consequences. It was the very idea that every action has an effect, and even the smallest can have the biggest outcomes.

Turning on the news, it had become the general consensus that Deoxys - who had randomly reappeared after having gone missing years ago - attacked Lumiose City and destroyed the cathedral and the surrounding area; they were far from the truth.

It took me a while to get over it, but when I did, I remembered a conversation I had had with Miette a couple of days ago concerning Ash.

_"So what do you think?" I asked _

_The school week had gone by quickly, but it really only left me with more questions than answers. More specifically surrounding Ash - that subject was a tough one. _

_"The teenage-girl-me thinks you like him. A lot" Miette answered. "The realistic me says it's probably too early too tell," _

_Like I mentioned before, I use to have a big crush on Ash during our childhood years, and while I hadn't forgotten about him over the years, the romantic feeling associated with him have. Or so I thought. _

_Confusion, especially went it comes to romance, was something new to me, and even then, I didn't expect to come to Miette for advice, yet, here I was. We were walking around the mall while Miette ran some errands, and after having bumped into her, I decided there that it would be better to approach her for advice on my situation then to let her tease me about it. _

_"though I do see why Calem may be upset now" Miette said_

_"I knew he seemed upset," I replied, "but what do you mean?"_

_"Oh Serena," Miette giggled, "you really are blind for love, aren't you?"_

_"I'm still lost" I said blankly _

_"You didn't know Calem had, well... has, a crush on you?" Miette informed. "I thought everyone knew, considering how obvious it was" _

_"Calem... a crush... on me?" I repeated, a bunch of thoughts swirling around in my head; everything that used to confuse me about Calem clicked into place. _

_"I was thinking about getting the two of you together after all this time" Miette said. "Then Ash came along, and now I can't decide who's the better match for you... but the fact that he's only been here for a week, and I'm already deciding between him and Calem... You've got yourself one confusion situation Serena" _

_"I know" I sighed. "But even if I really do like Ash, what if he doesn't like me back?"_

_"Then it's up to you to change that" Miette said. "Ash really seems to like you, in the friend-kind-of-way, so it might be natural for him to develop feelings over time" _

_"You're probably right" I agreed_

_"Though I do have to warn you," Miette put her hand on my shoulder, "if you don't hurry up, I might take him for myself" _

_Despite being annoyed, I blushed at the idea, and asked with an annoyed tone: "Really?"_

_"Or maybe someone else will" Miette shrugged. "He's pretty good-looking after all" _

_"Well don't rush things" I muttered, folding my arms across my chest. "Also, try not to tell anyone about this"_

_"I'll try, but you know I can't promise anything" She said_

**Ash**

"I'm not sure how I feel about all of this" I said

"We're hiding a big thing, but at the same time, it's for the greater good" Gary replied. "Who knows what kind of revenge X would want if we turned him in. We've seen the power he has after all"

On the surface, I had been talking to Gary, but really I had been talking to myself at the same time. It was a bit hard to explain, but when I had seen Serena was alright after Deoxys's attack, I felt more than just relieved.

"You alright Ash?" Gary asked

I sat up - we were in his room; he was on the bed and I had been flat on the ground - and faced him. "What do you mean?"

"You're in some kind of deep thinking, I can tell by the look on your face" He pointed out

Thinking about it, I did have a crush on Serena when we were smaller, though I had kind of forgotten about her over the years between all of my adventures and the people I had met. When I saw her again nearly a week ago, there had been a kind of explosion of emotions in my head.

"How do you know when you like someone?" I asked out of nowhere

"Ash has a question about love? That's new" Gary teased and I felt my cheeks warm up a bit. "Anyways, your heart flutters when you see them, sometimes you get nervous when talking to them - especially when your alone with them - and you really care about them, just to name a few things"

"You sound like you're talking from experience" I said

"Well, you could say I'm interested in someone here" Gary replied

I raised an eyebrow. "Who?"

For some reason, he laughed. "Don't worry Ash, it's not Serena"

"What? Who said anything about Serena?" I panicked a bit

He continued to laugh, this time louder. "So that's why you asked"

"I really don't know what you're talking about" I tried

"There's no point in hiding it Ash, I've been on to you since day one" Gary said

"Fine" I sighed. "I'm not really sure how I feel about her"

"It's probably too early to tell, but give it some time, and we'll have this conversation again"

**Jason**

It was frightening how quickly Lumiose got over the events with Deoxys and got on with their normal days. On the other hand, there were a lot less people looking around for a challenge, which left me pretty bored.

I was sat on a bench in front of a battlefield, with a park on the right and the streets off to the left. In my hand was the Pokeball that contained Charizard, and I could see my own reflection in it. What would be my piercing eyes now looked a bit droopy or disappointed.

"What happened to you?" a familiar voice asked as they sat down on the bench in front of me - pink hair, obvious disguise.

"You know anyone with an average IQ would see through that" I said

"It works" Aria shrugged. "Plus, it's better than nothing"

"Guess your right" I muttered

"So what's up?" She asked

"I could have done more" I sat up straight. "Charizard's powerful, maybe I could have stopped Deoxys"

"Well it was a hit-and-run, wasn't it?" Aria pointed out. "I doubt anyone could have done anything"

"Right" I agreed

There about a minute of silence.

"Do you remember what I told you when you said you wanted to become Kalos Queen?" I asked

"Six years ago... yeah, I remember"

"And what'd I say"

"You said, 'that's nuts'." She recalled

A smile tugged at the corner of my lips, but I held it back. "After that"

"Oh. You said, 'at least it's more realistic than my dream'" Aria said. "I still don't think it's true"

"Yet one of us failed and the other succeeded" I replied

"Are you suggesting what I think you are?"

I looked up at the sky that was slowly darkening. "It's no coincidence"

**Gary** **/** **August** **18th**

Despite having been filled in by Miette, I still felt like I was missing something here. I was out in Lumiose City with Ash and Serena, but they were being extra-awkward today. Serena would shoot Ash a quick glance and look away with a blush, while Ash would do the same, but with a less visible blush.

To say the least, it was pretty cliché. It was obvious that they both liked each other, and they knew it, but were unaware of how the other felt. I almost wanted to just blurt it out, but I figured it would be more entertaining to watch them settle it themselves; it was like watching a drama show, but in real-life, and I had control over the characters. Well, not really, but you get the point.

"You guys are pretty quiet today" I said

"I guess there's not much to talk about" Ash responded

"Yeah" Serena agreed blankly

"Then I'll start - where do you guys think X went?" I asked

"I'm not sure; he could be anywhere" Ash said

"I'm still trying to wrap my head around everything" Serena added. "He just kind of became psychotic out of nowhere"

"Maybe he was always like that" I guessed

"I doubt it; there were never really any signs" Serena said

"You make it sound like you know him" I replied

"Just saying" She held her hands up in surrender. "I never took him as a 'take over the world' kind-of-guy"

"No kidding. And apparently, he's not even an adult yet" Ash said

"That is a little bit crazy to think about. It makes me even more determined to figure out who X and Y are" I said. "For all we know, X could be going to our school"

"You think someone that powerful could be right under our noses?" Serena asked

"Anything is possible at this point" I held a finger up

We continued walking, with things being less awkward now. Ash and Serena would actually talk to each other, and surprisingly enough they didn't seem nervous at all. Eventually we got hungry and decided on a café that had its own battlefield at the back of it.

Fifteen minutes in, in the middle of eating our food, we felt a strong gust of wind come in through the window. I decided to look out, and I could see two familiar trainers facing off.

"Check it out!" I pointed out the window, my voice most likely sounding muffled with my food

"You should probably chew first" Serena awkwardly chuckled

I swallowed. "But check out who's battling!"

**.**

"You guys can eat way too fast" Serena sighed as we took a seat on a table overlooking the battlefield

"What can I say, I wanted to see this battle" I said

Coincidentally, we had ran into Jason having a battle against Sawyer. Luckily we had gotten here just in time to see the two of them release their Pokemon - Sceptile and Greninja.

"Mind if I join you guys?" somebody asked

Though I was focused on the battle, Serena said, "Aria! What are you doing here?"

"Tell you later; the battle's starting" She replied

"Sceptile, use Leaf Blade!" Sawyer began

"Greninja, use Nightslash!" Jason responded

Sceptile's arm-blade grew in size and glowed green as he dashed forward; Greninja conjured up a dark-purple blade and lunged, slashing through Sceptile before he could be hit.

"Water Shuriken!" Jason pressured

Greninja jumped up and held up one hand, a large shuriken made of pure water forming. He tossed it just as Sceptile recovered, and it landed, setting off an explosion.

"I don't think I've seen that Pokemon before" Ash said, pulling out his Pokedex

"Greninja, the Ninja Pokemon, and the final-evolved form of Froakie. It creates throwing stars out of compressed water. When it spins them and throws them at high speed, these stars can split metal in two. It appears and vanishes with a ninja's grace; It toys with its enemies using swift movements, while slicing them with throwing stars of sharpest water"

"You have a Froakie don't you, Ash?" Serena said

"Yeah," Ash confirmed, "I had no idea he evolved into Greninja though"

"Sceptile, Dragon Claw!" Sawyer commanded

"Use Power-Up Punch" Jason said

Sceptile activated Dragon Claw and charged forward, disregarding any defense; Greninja quickly dodged both swipes from Sceptile and landed a punch to him, staggering him. Sceptile continued to attack, seeming to have a procedure of sorts with Sawyer for this kind of situation.

"Use Water Shuriken Rush" Jason instructed

Greninja quit dodging Sceptile's attacks and backflipped until it reached its original position on the battlefield. Holding up one hand, it formed another large Water Shuriken that it slammed down into the ground, cracking it. Water pressure from the impact traveled through the impact and hit Sceptile, nearly identical to Blast Burn. Greninja then tossed the shuriken, which hit Sceptile and added to the explosion.

"Greninja's super fast" Ash said

"He is called the Ninja Pokemon" I pointed out

The smoke cleared and Sceptile had taken some heavy damage, despite being at a type-advantage.

"Looks like we have to bust out our secret move, Sceptile" Sawyer said. "Use Frenzy Plant!"

"Use Substitute and Power-Up Punch!" Jason quickly responded, sounding more serious

Suddenly, Greninja vanished, reappeared a few seconds later behind Sceptile, who smashed both fists into the ground. Time seemed to slow down as Sawyer realized what had happened, and as Greninja hit Sceptile in the back with Power-Up Punch, sending him crashing into the opposite wall behind Jason.

Slowly, Sceptile recovered and peeled himself off the wall.

"Are you alright Sceptile?" Sawyer asked

"Scep!" It confirmed, nodding

"Alright then! Use Frenzy Plant!" Sawyer commanded for again

"He's going to try it again?" Ash questioned

"I guess so" Serena said

"Greninja, same procedure" Jason simply said

Greninja once again vanished and reappeared behind Sceptile, who instead of using Frenzy Plant used Leaf Storm - a frenzy of leaves that shot out of its tail and hit Greninja, sending him into the air and exploding.

"He used Leaf Storm instead of Frenzy Plant; Sceptile knew what to do" Ash said

"Looks like Sawyer's a pretty good trainer in his own right" I added

The smoke cleared, but there were no signs of Greninja. Before Sawyer could react, he appeared behind Sceptile and landed two strikes with Night Slash that finished off Sceptile.

"That was a good fake-out, but you left yourself open for a following counterattack" Jason advised

"I have to take note of this experience" Sawyer pulled out a small journal and wrote something down into it. "Thanks Sceptile, you can rest now"

**.**

"My name's Serena! Nice to meet you" Serena said, shaking hands with Sawyer

"And I'm Sawyer" He replied

"That was a great move you used earlier Sawyer; Sceptile knew exactly what to do" Ash said

"Thanks Ash, it means a lot coming from you" Sawyer chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. "It takes a lot of practice to get the communication down

"How about we have a training match then?" Ash suggested

"That sounds great!" Sawyer agreed

The two walked back down to the battlefield and took opposite sides on it. Serena and I sat back down at our original table - Jason and Aria had left to attend something. I was engaged in the battle at first, until I glanced over to see that Serena was looking more at Ash than the actual battle itself.

"You like him, don't you?" I said

She came out of her trance and faced me, a blush spreading across her cheeks. "W-What are you talking about?"

"Miette already told me everything" I shrugged

"I knew she wouldn't be able to keep it a secret" She muttered

"She also said she finds it a little weird how detailed you were able to explain when you guys met" I added

"Well it's one of my most vivid memories" Serena crossed her arms

There was a short pause as I watched Sawyer's Bagon hit Ash's Froakie with Skull Bash. "Why don't you ask him out?"

The blush on her cheeks that had been fading quickly remerged, even more visible this time. "A-Ask him out? What if he doesn't like me?"

"Something tells me he might" I said

"'Something tells you'?" She questioned

"Yeah. Something. I mean, what's the worst that could happen if you ask him?"

"What's the worst? It would be totally awkward every time we're with each other! In fact, it might even ruin our friendship, and I don't think that's worth the risk" Serena said. "If I'm lucky, it's just a small crush that'll blow over"

I shook my head. "The way you look at him tells me its much more then a small crush"

"The way I look at him?"

"Whenever he talks, your always so focused on him; whenever he isn't talking, well... your pretty focused on him"

"I guess I really do like him then" Serena said. "Badly..."


	14. Chapter Fourteen: Island of Arcanum

**Narrator** **/** **September** **2nd**

**"People** **approach** **the** **island"**

The wind picked up pace, blowing heavily against the black-robed figure as they opened their eyes. Surrounding wild Pokemon quickly scattered in a panic, hoping to get away, but a younger Fletchling was too slow and ended up dropping to the ground, unmoving.

"Human's are foolish, they will do anything to do anything for answers" X said, standing up and making his way through the forest. "The Island of Abbadon, or Arcanum Island to out-siders, should not be trifled with. I cannot let them activate what's at the heart of the island"

Suddenly, the wind froze midair and turned into the darkest shade of black before conjuring up different Pokemon - Beartic, Noivern, Gyarados, Scizor, Grimmsnarl, and Decidueye.

"In order to protect the island, I will eradicate these humans, and the Pokemon that dare support them" X said. "That's what's best for the island, isn't it, Corvinight?"

"Cor!" the "Raven Pokemon" agreed, perching itself on X's shoulder

**Serena**

"We got really luck with this one" Tierno said

Last Friday, my friends and I, plus a few other students, got chosen to head to Arcanum Island as part of a school fieldtrip. There wasn't much known about the island, but that was that the point behind the fieldtrip - to explore, discover and learn. We rode a cruise ship, and were dressed for the beach due to the hot weather.

"I wonder what kind of Pokemon are on the island" Ash said

"Of course you're thinking about the Pokemon" Gary sighed

"What else would I thinking about?" Ash asked, both he and Pikachu visibly confused

"Oh, nothing" Gary dismissed. "I just thought our little talk last night might come to surface"

I had no idea what they were talking about, but a slight blush spread across Ash's face, and he shot a quick one-second-glance at me before looking away.

"So Serena" Miette put her elbow on my shoulder, leaning against me to whisper into my ear. "Think about asking Ash out yet? I told if you took too long, you might miss your chance"

"What? Why would I do that?" I panicked, my cheeks burning up

"For one of the smartest people on this boat, you can be pretty dense" Miette knocked on my forehead, looking at Ash over my shoulder

"Whatever; I'm not going to ask him out. Not yet at least" I said

"Suit yourself" She shrugged and walked away with a smirk on her face. I watched as she went over and entered a conversation with Ash and Gary.

"Miette bothering you again?" Shauna asked, walking over after finishing up a conversation with Trevor

"Sometimes I wonder if she does it on purpose" I replied

"Oh" She said. "Did it have anything to do with you liking Ash?"

"What! Who told you that?" I quickly covered her mouth

"You just did" Her voice came out muffled through my hand, so I removed it. "But seriously, it's pretty obvious"

I sighed. "Is it really?"

"I'm pretty sure the only person who doesn't know is Ash himself" Shauna said

**.**

"Welcome to Arcanum Island!" Mr. Burns, our Biology teacher, said as the ship came to a stop at the shore.

The island was fairly big and dotted with trees, with one extra-large tree in the center of that had to have been around twenty times the size of the other trees. Wild Pokemon like Fletchling, Butterfree, and Pidgey flew around the island, and there were some familiar and unfamiliar Pokemon on the ground.

"I definitely haven't seen some of these Pokemon" Gary said, his notebook and pencil ready

Out of interest, I scanned a few of the Pokemon I hadn't seen before.

"Yanmega, the Ogre Darner Pokemon - a bug-and-flying-type. By churning its wings, it creates shock waves that inflict critical internal injuries to foes. Its jaw power is incredible. It is adept at biting apart foes while flying by at high speed"

"Braviary, the Valiant Pokemon - a normal-and-flying-type. They fight for their friends without any thought about danger to themselves. The more scars they have, the more respect these brave soldiers of the sky get from their peers. It's said that one can carry a car while flying"

"Bastiodon, the Shield Pokemon - a rock-and-steel-type. Any frontal attack is repulsed. When attacked, they form a wall with their shield-like faces to protect their young. It is a docile Pokémon that feeds on grass and berries"

"It's not everyday you see these kinds of Pokemon" Tierno said

The rest of and I marveled at the Pokemon - the drawbridge from the cruise ship began to lower - as most of us were unfamiliar with a lot of these.

After a couple of minutes, Calem got impatient and pushed through the crowd, walking down the drawbridge. "Take a picture; it'll last longer"

"You got that right" Trevor said, expectingly taking a frenzy of pictures

Led by Mr. Burns and Professor Sycamore, we made our way down onto the drawbridge and touched down onto the beach. The island was a lot hotter than Kalos, so we all remained in our beach clothes as we began to walk closer to the actual island itself.

"Is it just me," Clemont - who had also been chosen for the fieldtrip - said, "or does this island give off some strange vibes"

"Yeah, it does have a strange kind of feeling to it" Gary agreed

"Well, for one, the air is pretty cold despite the heat" Shauna pointed out

"And the Pokemon are giving us some strange looks" I added, referring to the scowl on some of their faces

"What? They didn't tell you people die on this island?" Jason said, a serious look on his face

"Huh?" We all - except Calem - replied, a bit freaked out

"Just joking" He clarified, pushing past to catch up with Calem who was ahead of all of us. "Seriously, what's the worst that could happen?"

**.**

"Look at all the different kinds of water-type Pokemon" Shauna said as we passed by a large pond

"Yuck, what's that Pokemon" Miette pointed to a strange-looking Pokemon

"That's a Dracovish - originally discovered in the Galar Region, and a dragon-and-water-type" Professor Sycamore answered

"Galar region, huh?" Ash said. "Can't say I've heard much about that region"

"There's a lot of different types of Pokemon on this island, all from different regions" Mr. Burns filled in

"No one knows how they all got here, but its rumored that all the Pokemon you see on this island were actually created here" Professor Sycamore said. "There hasn't been a single fossil dug up on this island too, so it may be possible"

"I wonder if there's any fairy-type Pokemon on this island" I mumbled

"Fairy-type?" Ash and Gary both questioned

"That's right, you guys probably still haven't learned about it, but the fairy-type originated in the Kalos region" I informed

"I had no idea there was a fairy-typing" Gary said, writing down notes into his notebook

"It was only recently discovered about three years ago, and it's really changed a lot of battles" I said. "Fairy-types are strong against fighting, dark, and dragon-type Pokemon, while weak to poison and steel-types"

"I always thought dragon-types were pretty strong, maybe I'll catch myself a fairy-type sometime soon" Ash said

"The fairy-type is probably my favorite out of all of them, and Sylveon - the fairy-type evolution of Eevee - is especially my favorite" I said

"Looks like we really need to learn more about this fairy-type" Gary continued to write down notes. "I thought I heard something about Champion Diantha having one, but I had no idea what they meant"

"Yup. Diantha's Gardevoir - her main Pokemon - is a fairy-and-psychic-type" I confirmed. "They say its powerful enough to give X and Y's Pokemon a good battle, though it's never been proven"

We came out of the forest and entered a flat valley filled with lots of Pokemon I'd never seen before; we decided to set up camp here, and I had to get some help with Ash for my tent.

"Thanks Ash, I've never set up a camp before" I thanked him nervously, rubbing the back of my head

"No problem Serena, anytime" He smiled cutely, and it was enough to make me blush, so I quickly looked away

As I turned my gaze away, I spotted a pair of dark-red, glowing eyes looking back at us from the forest. Its body wasn't visible, but the look it had in its eyes weren't any good.

"Do you see that?" I asked Ash, pointing to it

He turned to where I was pointing, but the eyes retreated just as he did. "I don't see anything unusual"

"Oh" I simply said, not wanting to embarrass myself - especially in front of Ash - anymore

Turning back around, I noticed that all of the tents and people had completely vanished. I quickly turned to the side and was relived to see Ash still there, but was still confused at the sight in front of me.

"Where'd everyone go?" I asked

"Strange" Ash blinked rapidly. "I could have sworn they were here a second ago"

**Gary**

"Hey, anyone see Ash and Serena?" Shauna asked our group

"What do you mean?" Trevor responded

"I can't see to find them anywhere" Shauna said

"I knew they liked each other, but to run off like that" I joked

"Gary, I'm being serious" Shauna narrowed her eyes

"Oh, right" I quickly stood up and looked around the campsite to find that, in fact, Ash and Serena were both nowhere in sight

"Even running, they probably couldn't have gone far" Jason said nonchalantly, releasing his Charizard that flew up into the air and took an aerial view

"What's going?" Calem inquired, walking over

"Ash and Serena are missing" Tierno answered

His facial expression went from zero to one-hundred; he scowled. "What do you mean they're 'missing'?"

"Missing: absent from a place, especially home, and of unknown whereabouts; not present or included when expected or supposed to be" Jason stated the dictionary definition

"Thanks a lot, dimwit" Calem released a Houndoom that began to sniff around. "I'm going out to look for them"

"We'll go too" Shauna said

"Don't bother getting in my way; you won't be able to keep up with Houndoom" Calem said, following his Pokemon into the forest

"Rude" Shauna muttered

"I think he's just jealous" Tierno said

"Jealous?" I asked, clearly missing something

"Calem use to have a pretty big crush on Serena" Shauna explained. "And I'd say he still does"

"Bummer" I mumbled

**.**

Based on the severity of the problem, the whole camp decided to split up into the groups to go out and find Ash and Serena. I was paired up with Jason, whose Charizard seemed to have pick up on their scent.

"How did they just disappear like that?" I questioned

"In truth, there isn't much known about the island" Jason said. "Between you and me, some people call it the Island of Abbadon"

"Abbadon? What's that?"

"An ancient spirit that was banished by Arceus millions of years ago. It's the personification of evil, and well..." He hesitated at the end, as if not wanting to share something. "It could just be a Pokemon playing a prank. I know there's a couple of Gengar on this island"

Afterwards, there were a few awkward moments of silence as we continued to follow Charizard through the forest.

"So... about this 'Abbadon'. How come I've never heard about it?" I piped up

"Very few people know about its existence, and it's better that way" Jason replied. "I was unfortunate enough to become aware of it"

I decided to stop pressing for details and to do my own research later looking at how uncomfortable the topic seemed to be for him. It made me realize that I didn't really know much, if anything at all, about Jason.

Charizard suddenly stopped in place and began to sniff around, as if he had found them. I was about to ask if he did, when a Beartic with a dark aura around it burst out some trees on the right side just up ahead of the trail.

"A dark Pokemon" Jason said

"Um, what?"

"It's the result of the dark-typing being forced upon a Pokemon. Beartic would usually be a pure ice-type, but now he would be an ice-and-dark-type"

"Why in the world would someone do that though?"

Beartic lunged forward, and Charizard use Fire Punch to send it crashing into a couple of trees. Reaching for one of my Pokeballs, I released Blastoise who fired a Hydro Pump upon release, adding damage.

Despite having been hit by both those attacks, Beartic stood up with no difficulty, and with no clear signs of damage on him. It growled and used Blizzard, which caused it snow heavily down onto us.

"Jeez it's cold" I folded my arms across my chest. "That's definitely no regular Blizzard"

"This is no regular Pokemon"


	15. Chapter Fifteen: Elements and Love

**Narrator**

**"The** **mortals** **have** **engaged** **into** **battle** **with** **my** **dark** **Pokemon"** X said, sat down and leaning against a tree. "Who attacked first, I'm not sure, but it doesn't matter, because they'll be wiped out"

"It seems a couple of them are heading this way, Master" Corvinight - X's trusty Pokemon - said. "Just off to the left, you should see them"

Sure enough, when X turned, he could see two of the mortals who had arrived on Arcanum Island - or as he called it: the Island of Abbadon. When they got closer, and he made out who they were, he quickly stood up and hid behind the tree he had been resting against.

"Ash Ketchum and Serena Yvonne... why are they here?" X mumbled

"It appears the island's occasional reality-warping abilities got them separated from the other mortals" Corvinight replied. "You seem to know who they are, Master. Are they of importance?"

"The boy, Ash Ketchum... he's one of the seventeen element masters; the girl, Serena... she knows my true identity" X explained

"Impossible" Corvinight said in disbelief. "That boy is one of the seventeen masters? And how does the girl know your identity?"

"He doesn't know it, but he's the water-type master; I can sense it. The girl... I didn't mean for her to find out, but it happened after my battle with Y" X answered

"Battle with Y... sounds like I missed out on a lot" Corvinight said. "Would you like me to exterminate them?"

"I'm afraid I can't afford to loose these two, but it looks like they're heading in the direction of the Grand Tree" X said

Ash and Serena walked past the tree he was hiding behind; he heard them talking about something to do with some old summer camp, and he noticed that the girl was blushing after one particular comment.

"So they're in love" X muttered in disgust. "Let's follow them; in the event that they activate the tree, I have to stop them"

And so, X and his Corvinight began to follow Ash and Serena, just within ear range of them, sticking about four trees behind them.

"We haven't even been here long and we're already lost" Serena said. "I hope your plans work though"

"It's probably our best bet" Ash replied

"So they are lost" X said

"It appears they're heading to the Grand Tree in hopes that their companions will find them there" Corvinight guessed. "A smart plan, but they don't seem to be aware of the consequences of messing around with that tree"

"You know Ash, I think I figured out what I want to do" Serena announced

"You have?" Ash turned back to her

"It took a lot of talking-tos, but I'm sure I want to be a Pokemon Performer just like Aria" Serena said; X noticed she had a look on her face that meant she was looking for approval

"That's great! I'm sure you'll be good at it" Ash responded

"Thanks Ash" Serena smiled back, a nearly invisible blush on her face

"Strange..." X thought out loud

"What is it Master?"

"The girl has a strange latent ability as well, but I can't seem to pinpoint what it is"

Ash and Serena finally reached the Grand Tree - the large tree in the center of the island - and sat down, leaning against it.

"Perhaps she's an element master like the boy" Corvinight guessed

"An element master..." X repeated. "There's only seventeen of them, once for each Pokemon typing... but with the emergence of the fairy-typing..."

"She could be the first, or at least the first known, fairy-type master" Corvinight said

"It's the elementals that have the power to either make or break me; they could provide us enough energy, or use that same power to take us down"

"Who are the other known elementals?" Corvinight inquired

"Most of them are still unknown, at least to us. The grass-type master is a boy in Kalos who I'm sure has already had contact with these two. Then, there's Alain - the dragon-type master. My counterpart, Y, he's the fire-type master, and lastly... I'm the dark-type"

"How about the other one?"

"Oh right, the other one... he would be the steel-type one"

There was a rustling sound off to Ash and Serena's right - X's left - and the group of four watched as a Scizor, cloaked in a dark aura, emerged from behind a couple of trees. The two quickly stood up and reached for their Pokeballs, when the golden leaves on the Grand Tree began to flash.

"Fools" X mumbled

"It's no use, our Pokemon aren't doing any damage" Trevor said

"And what's worse is that we've never seen this Pokemon before" Tierno added. "My Pokedex won't pick it up either"

"Hold on, I know what this Pokemon is" Shauna said. "I remember Professor Sycamore told me this was a Pokemon from Galar, it's name was something like Grimmsnarl, but I know it's a dark-and-fairy-type"

Grimmsnarl smashed its fist into the ground, and the trio's Pokemon barely managed to move out of the way from Blast Burn.

"Ivysaur, use Vine Whip to keep him in place!" Shauna instructed

Two long vines sprouted out of Ivysaur, wrapping around Grimmsnarl and keeping him still for a follow up attack.

"Charmeleon, use Flamethrower!" Trevor commanded

Charmeleon stepped forward confidently and fired a strong Flamethrower that collided with Grimmsnarl, setting off an explosion that left the Pokemon out of view with smoke.

"Get ready Wartortle" Tierno said, and a few moments later, Grimmsnarl hopped out of the smoke, unfazed by the attack. "Use Rapid Spin!"

Wartortle entered its shell and spun rapidly before launching itself forward and slamming into Grimmsnarl midair, sending him crashing into a tree. Despite the multiple attacks the trio had given him, Grimmsnarl stood up once again without any visible damage on him.

"All those attacks and still no damage" Shauna said

"And our Pokemon are getting exhausted" Tierno pointed out

"It's like he's toying with us; he hasn't even counterattacked yet" Trevor said

Grimmsnarl raised one of his arms, and a purple ball of light appeared around it. Slowly, the trees around the trio turned into a grayish color and began to decay. Dark clouds rolled in up above, and black lightning began to circulate the ground.

"Ever fight a Pokemon like this before?" Miette asked

"Lots" Calem said. "I told you not to follow me"

"I thought it would be entertaining" Miette said

"Entertaining?"

"Well you know, with your crush on Serena, and the fact that she's alone somewhere with Ash..." Miette explained

Calem called back Houndoom and put the Pokeball away, exchanging it for one with a dent on it. "All the more reason to finish this quickly"

The Noivern - a pitch-black aura around it - in front of them landed on the ground, interested in its opponent's next move.

"You're going to use that Pokemon?" Miette asked

"I have no other choice" Calem tossed the Pokeball forward, and the Pokemon that was released from it slashed through Noivern in the blink of an eye, landing behind it. "Use Metal Rush"

Calem's Pokemon lunged forward rapidly, landing a fury of punches to Noivern and then uppercutting it up into the air, before jumping up and smacking it back down into the ground. It landed just as quick and fired a powerful Flash Cannon that sent Noivern crashing through multiple trees, with the attack exploding at the end

"You're a bit rusty, Bisharp" Calem said. "No pun intended"

"It's been a while since the last time I saw you use Bisharp" Miette recalled

"No fun in winning every battle"

Noivern came rushing forward, slashing at Bisharp using Dragon Claw; Bisharp easily dodged each slash and gutted Noivern with Metal Claw, sending him flying back. Seeing the tables had turned, Miette called back her Slurpuff.

"Something's wrong with this Noivern. Not only is much more powerful than your average one, it has a strange aura around it" Calem said

"Which means it's likely Ash and Serena are the victim of some bad plot" Miette figured

There was a bright flashing light in the sky, and the two trainers looked around to spot that the massive tree in the center of the island had its leaves flashing brightly.

"I guess we know where our target location is" Calem pointed to it. "Bisharp, finish this"

Nodding, Bisharp began to focus a ball of energy in between its hands; Noivern flew forward, nearly hitting Bisharp with Dragon Claw, but was instead shot far into the sky by a strong Flash Cannon; Noivern was shot so far away it became nothing more than a distant spark of light until there was an explosion to indicate Bisharp's attack had went off.

"Let's go" Calem said, returning Bisharp and running off without giving Miette the chance to react

"I think I underestimated the size of his crush" Miette sighed before rushing off

The two ran for about five minutes before getting tired and taking a quick break next to a large lake; they ran past multiple trees that were beginning to decay and die, and there was evidence of previous battles.

"I wonder how our friends are doing" Miette said as they sat down

"If there are other Pokemon like that Noivern, then I'm not so sure" Calem replied. "All I know is that something bad is happening on this island, and it might have something to do with that tree"

"Sounds like you know a thing or two about this island" Miette narrowed her eyes suspiciously

"I don't" Calem denied. "Well... things are kind of coming to me for some reason. The big tree is called the Grand Tree, and it contains energy from each Pokemon typing"

Miette was about to reply when heavy footsteps began to approach them from behind, somewhere deep into the forest. They turned, and a woman wearing a purple robe with a golden belt wrapped around their waist emerged, followed by an Arbok that slithered next to him.

"It's been a while steely," She said, "though I didn't expect to reunite with you here of all places. Regardless, it's pleasant"

Calem scowled. "Sabrina"

"Who is this Calem?" Miette asked. "And why'd she call you steely?"

"I'll explain later" He dismissed, reaching for his dented Pokeball

The purple-robed figure dropped their hood, and to Miette's surprise, she was overwhelmingly beautiful. She was a couple of years older than them in appearance, around seventeen. Her eyes were a light-purple color, and her light-blonde hair reflected the sunlight casted down onto them.

"I see that you haven't told your friends about your true nature. That's too bad; they'll have to learn the hard way" Sabrina said, bringing out a Masterball

"Poison-type moves have no effect on steel-type moves" Calem reminded

"But your Bisharp is also half dark-typed" Sabrina responded. "Plus, you know that types mean nothing in a battle between two element masters"

"Why are you here?" Calem demanded to know

"What's wrong? You aren't happy to see me?" Sabrina mocked. "I felt the presence of five masters on the island, so I decided to drop by and make the number six and see who I could battle"

"Five?!" Calem stepped back in shock

"Dark, Water, Fairy, Steel, and there's a fifth whose concealing his type" Sabrina listed. "Either there's people on this island you didn't know about... or some of your friends are element masters as well, wether they know it or not"

"I'm lost" Miette sighed

"There's seventeen element masters, one for each Pokemon typing, in the entire world" Sabrina explained. "When one dies, usually pretty old, a young trainer around our age is chosen to succeed them. Your friend Calem is the steel-type one, and I would be the poison-type"

"Doesn't sound like that big of a deal" Miette said

Sabrina laughed, ironically, it was beautiful too. "Let's put it this way... the source of X and Y's power - the crazy and powerful moves they use - come from the fact that they're masters, dark and fire respectively. All elementals can tap into those powerful moves"

"X is on the island..." Calem and Miette both said under their breath

"Well then, I hope you wouldn't mind having a quick battle" Sabrina requested

"Sorry, but I have better things to do" Calem denied

Sabrina raised her eyebrow, and Miette explained, "He's got to save the girl he likes"

"I didn't know you were capable of love" Sabrina said. "All the more reason for you to give it your all in this battle"

She tossed her Masterball forward, and out came a Salazzle that hissed at the two of them menacingly.

Calem released Bisharp again, and Miette could tell by the way that they looked at each other that they had some kind of rivalry between them.

"Last time you were beaten pretty badly. I hope you improved" Sabrina said

"I thought you said Bisharp was undefeated" Miette folded her arms across her chest

"The steel-type master is a well-known pathological liar" Sabrina informed

"Bisharp, use Iron Pole!" Calem commanded

Bisharp's arm contorted into a cylindrical pole and extended out; Salazzle quickly dashed out of the way and hit Bisharp with Poison Jab, sending him crashing into the lake behind Calem and Miette.

"You've got no chance"


	16. Chapter Sixteen: Dark, Poison, & Fire

**Serena**

**I** **was** **having** **a** **bad** **time.** Getting lost was bad enough, but getting ambushed by wild Pokemon was another.

"A Scizor" Ash said

"Pika?" Pikachu questioned

"I don't think I like the look on its face" I said

Around the Scizor in front of us was a dark aura, and its eyes were glowing bright-red. I had watched enough movies to know what was about to happen, which meant I was already hiding behind Ash.

"Nobody move" a voice from behind said, chilling me to the bones. It was exactly the voice I didn't want to hear, but when I thought about it, hearing it didn't make any sense. Turning back around, X approached us with a strange Pokemon on his shoulder.

"You..." I said. If Ash hadn't been there, I would have said his real name.

X waved his hand and the Scizor dissipated into the air. "It appears that you two have gotten lost on the Island of Abbadon. How unfortunate..."

"Island of Abbadon?" Ash and I both responded

"Tell me what business you have on this island" X asked

"We're just here on a school fieldtrip" Ash answered innocently

"A school fieldtrip..." X repeated. "What kind of fool would bring children to this island on a fieldtrip? It seems the outside world doesn't know much, because this is one of the most dangerous places on Earth"

"Well there isn't much known about the island" I said

"Which is exactly why you shouldn't have come" X facepalmed, which would looked strange considering we couldn't see his face underneath his hood

"Corv" His Pokemon said

"Right" X agreed. "It seems the elemental spirits go choosing anyone nowadays"

"Elemental spirits?" Ash questioned

"It's none of your business" X said. "Well, it is... but not yet... unless I want it to be. Point is, it doesn't matter... yet"

"Who knew X could be so... goofy" Ash whispered

"I know right" I whispered back. Then to X: "By the way, you and I still have to talk"

"Yeah yeah, whatever" X motioned for me to follow before walking away

"I'll be right back" I told Ash before following him

We walked a bit deeper into the forest where Ash couldn't see us, and X lowered down his hood for me to actually see him. This time that I wasn't in the moment, I could make out more features of his face that confused me.

"So you've just been running around in a black robe this entire time?" I spoke first

"It's not what you think it is" He put his hand over his right eye, where a scar stretched across. "There's too many things you don't understand. Even if I took the time to explain, you wouldn't get it"

"I'm not exactly on limited time" I pointed out

"You may think that, but it's not true" He pointed up to the large tree with the flashing leaves, and then back at me. "Know this Serena: you posses an extremely powerful latent ability. It's both a curse and a blessing"

"Latent ability?"

"Tell me, have you ever heard of an elemental master?" He said

Elemental master. The title made me sick - my vision blurred a bit and there was a loud ringing in my ears as memories flowed through my head. "I-I know one"

"Your father, correct?" He walked until we were in the same position as last time - shoulder to shoulder, but facing opposite directions. "He was the fairy-type master, but now... you are"

"But how's that possible?" I asked

"Do you know what happens when a master passes away?" He asked back, and the realization began to hit me. "The elemental spirits choose a successor. You, Serena, are that. It's quite rare considering the specific conditions that need to be met for a successor to be related to the previous master, especially so directly"

Tears began to well up in my eyes, and I felt sick to my stomach. "You mean... my father..."

"Last time we saw each other, I felt no inner ability in you. That means that in the last two weeks... your father passed away"

**Miette**

"Bisharp, Dual Blade Dance!" Calem commanded

Both of Bisharp's arms contorted into swords, and he dashed forward, slashing away at Salazzle recklessly, but unable to land any attacks as it dodged smoothly. Due to Salazzle's size and agility, it was able to dodge all of Bisharp's attacks effortlessly.

"You know, giving up is always an option" I said

"I don't give up" Calem quickly denied as Bisharp continued its assault

"That's what they all say" Sabrina sighed; Salazzle turned and used its tail to trip Bisharp. "Use Aura Wave"

Salazzle opened up both of its arms and everything momentarily turned purple as a shockwave shot out of it, hitting Bisharp and sending him crashing back into the lake again. This time, it took a couple of moments for it to get back up.

"Come on Calem, just give in" I insisted. "This isn't getting anywhere"

"I'm not going to give up; I have a plan" Calem said

Sabrina chuckled. "If you intend to use Karma Slash, then it won't work"

Calem's eyes widened a bit, surprised that his plan got figured out. "Just because you know I'm going to use it, doesn't mean you can avoid it. Bisharp, use Karma Slash!"

The ground began to shake heavily as if we were in the middle of an earthquake, and a purple glow outlined Bisharp as its scratches and scars glowed brightly. The light began to travel down to Bisharp's fist, and it charged forward. Sabrina and Salazzle both grinned as the attack was moments away from hitting.

Based on what had happened just by the attack charging up, I was sure that if the attack were to land, it would do major damage. But when Bisharp was seconds away from landing the attack, it fainted and dropped to the ground. The vicinity immediately went silent and Salazzle hissed in victory.

"W-What happened?" Calem said in shock

"Karma Slash is an attack that doubles the damage a Pokemon took in a battle and turns that it into power, while taking that same original damage again in recoil" Sabrina began to explain. "In the first attack of the match, Salazzle planted Sting, an attack that also doubles the damage a Pokemon took in a match at any time I choose. Salazzle used it just before Karma Slash could hit, tripling Bisharp's injuries and taking it out instantly"

"So you had the entire match planned out" Calem figured out

Sabrina looked down at the fainted Bisharp in disappointment. "If anything, I'm surprised it's not dead"

"You're lucky it's not dead" Calem returned Bisharp into the dented Pokeball

"What about your other steel-type Pokemon?" Sabrina asked. "Metagross, Aggron, and Lucario should be on you, shouldn't they?"

"No" Calem answered simply

"That's too bad" Sabrina said, and in the blink of an eye, Salazzle snatched Calem's Pokeball and returned to her side. "I was hoping to get a good battle with another elemental master, but it seems that just wasn't possible"

"Give me my the ball back" Calem demanded

"Ha, you sound just like a little kid when you say that" Sabrina said. "Then again, you might as well be considering how people say you act. Maybe crushing this Pokeball will push you to be a better trainer"

"And now, the fun's ruined" a voice said somewhere off to the left. "I was having a kick out of it up until now"

Out of the bright sunlight came Y with his usual get up. He had four staffs on his back, one which I knew contained his Charizard, and three I had never seen before. Between his hood and bandana, only his piercing eyes were visible, and they looked like they meant business.

"Y... so you were the one concealing your energy" Sabrina said

"Return the Pokeball Sabrina" Y said, more ordering than asking. "I usually find your childish and cocky behavior amusing, entertaining even, but the destruction of another's Pokeball is a boundary I won't let you cross"

"And what'll happen if I do?" Sabrina inquired as Salazzle tightened its grip around Calem's dented Pokeball

"If you return the ball, then I'll battle you" Y offered

"Very well"

Salazzle tossed the Pokeball back to Calem, who caught it nonchalantly and put it back into his pocket. Y removed one of his staffs I hadn't seen before - a golden one with dual axe blades, and a fastball resting at the tip. He thrusted the staff into the ground, and a Typhlosion came out of the ball.

"You may be an elemental master, and currently one of the strongest, but the power difference between you and I is immense" Y said

"Then prove it" Sabrina narrowed her eyes challengingly

"Typholosion, use Heaven's Tower" Y began

Typholosion growled and a red circle of energy appeared underneath Salazzle, before a massive columns of flames erupted out of it, sending the Pokemon high up into the air.

"Use Sting!" Sabrina commanded as Salazzle landed back on the ground

"Use Sonic Rush" Y countered

Salazzle lunged forward insanely quick, a purple glow around its hand. Typhlosion quickly curled up into a ball and slammed into Salazzle, causing it to go crashing into a nearby tree. Seconds later, Typhlosion released a Flamethrower made up of white flames that swallowed Salazzle up and exploded.

Just as the smoke cleared, Salazzle appeared Typhlosion and went for Sting, but missed as Typhlosion saw it coming and quickly turned around, firing a green Flamethrower that bent upwards - taking Salazzle with it - and then shot forward, landing in the lake and exploding again.

"No one should be able to react to Salazzle's speed like that..." Sabrina said in disbelief

"Even I'm having a hard time believing it" I added

"Allow me to show you your place" Y said. "Typhlosion, use Penta-Discharge Roar"

The sky darkened as if it was the middle of the night, and five red circles of energy appeared just above Salazzle, forming a pentagon shape. Another energy circle appeared in front of Typholosion, who fired a Flamethrower into it. Flames burnt around the flying red circles, and Salazzle was unable to move out of the way as five extremely quick and powerful Flamethrowers launched and exploded against it.

"I think that was a bit overboard" I muttered

"Serves her right" Calem said

After a couple of moments, the smoke cleared, and Salazzle was laying unconscious in a steamy lake that was evaporating into the night sky. Sabrina returned her Pokemon, and the night retreated back into the day.

"Leave the island before the spirits have to choose the next poison-type master" Y said nonchalantly, but it came off as threatening

Sabrina scowled but walked away without saying another word, her Arbok slithering after her.

**Ash**

"What do you think they could be talking about?"

"Pika" Pikachu shrugged

There was a rustling in the trees that put me on guard, but I relaxed when Serena came back. The first thing I noticed was that her head was down, and that she was sniffling, but also trying not to make it obvious.

"Serena, are you alright?" I asked as she stopped in front of me

She shook her head, and then pulled me into a tight hug. It was unexpected, but I quickly hugged her back. X came not that long after, and I narrowed my eyes at him, assuming he had put her in this mood.

"Listen closely because it won't be repeated" X said. "You have exactly one hour to get off this island before either I or my Pokemon make sure you never leave"

Just before I could reply, there was a strange and extremely loud sound coming from somewhere down the trail that lead up to the tree; it sounded like a toy windup box and a clock playing backwards. Slow footsteps followed, and I was surprised to see Y come into view.

"Corv!" X's Pokemon exclaimed in a panic

"At ease" X assured. "Well if it isn't my good old pal, Y. What brings you here?"

"There wasn't exactly a reason besides you causing problems for innocents" Y replied. "I didn't know you stayed on this island; it seemed to peaceful of a place for you. At the same time, I shouldn't have to guess as to why half the population of the Pokemon here suddenly disappeared ever since you arrived"

X shrugged. "For some reason, some Pokemon die when they come close to me, or at least ever since I got here. It wasn't my intention, in fact, I was hoping you could help me out"

"You don't want my help; you want my mercy" Y said before vanishing into the wind; X followed after, disappearing into black mist

Fast approaching footsteps came from a different side of the trail, and both Calem and Miette emerged from the forest. Seconds later, Shauna, Trevor, and Tierno followed.

"Thank Arceus we found you guys!" Shauna said

Hearing the voice, Serena quickly jumped out of my arms with a blush spread across her face. "Shauna!"

"We were worried about you guys; we thought you got kidnapped or something" Tierno said

"I'm not really sure what had happened to be honest" I chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of my head

"At first, we thought you guys ran off with each other" Shauna joked

Serena and I both blushed, and Calem narrowed his eyes at the comment while Trevor and Tierno laughed. There was more rustling from behind them, and Jason, who looked like he ran through a few bushes, emerged with a bored look on his face. His eyes scanned all of us before landing on Calem and lightening up a bit.

"What are you staring at?" Calem said

"Someone's jealous" He muttered, and the others laughed again

"Hey, has anyone seen Gary?" I asked

**Gary**

"This is what I get for caring about Ash" I complained under my breath as I made my fifth circle around the same path. "Arceus knows I suck at geography! Why did I even agree to this? I've been lost for thirty minutes!"


	17. Chapter Seventeen: One Step Further

**Ash** **/** **September** **14th**

**My** **day** **began** **with** **a** **knock** **on** **the** **door.**

"Come in" I said groggily, expecting it to be Gary or my mom

To my surprise, Serena entered through the room, a friendly smile plastered on her face - during the past few weeks, I had begun to experience feelings for her unlike I had ever felt for a female friend of mine, and both Gary and my mom had said that it was because I liked her romantically -

"Hey Ash"

I yawned. "Hey Serena. What brings you here?"

"Did you just wake up?" She asked

"Yeah, why?" I responded

She pointed to my alarm clock, which displayed the current time in yellow digits. "It's almost one in the afternoon"

"Oh"

"Anyways, I was just hoping we could talk real quick" She said, pressing her index fingers against each other nervously - it was cute.

"What's up?" I asked, sitting up as she sat down on my bed, crisscrossed, facing me

"You know how I was upset over my dad passing?" She asked me to remember, and I confirmed with a hum. "Well, there was another thing I learned... Have you ever heard of something called an elemental master?"

"Elemental master... I might have heard it somewhere once" I said

"Well..." She hesitated, as if she didn't know how to explain. "Basically, when an elemental master passes - there's one for each Pokemon typing - a successor around our age is chosen. My dad... well, he was the fairy-type master, and I was chosen to follow him"

I took a couple seconds to process what she had said. "Thats... pretty cool, I guess"

She sighed. "I don't think you get it. X and Y can use all of those crazy, unknown, and powerful moves because they're the dark and fire masters. Ash, you're a master too - water"

"M-Me?"

"X said so, and I don't see a reason for him to have lied"

I glanced over at Pikachu, who was still asleep, and then back at her. "You're telling me that I'm some kind of master of water-types, and that with training, I can use moves like X & Y?"

"Yeah"

"Then I got to start training right away!" I said, quickly getting out of bed and changing into a different shirt . When I looked back, Serena had a surprised look and a blush on her face. "Oh shoot, my bad"

"N-No, it's okay" Serena assured

**.**

"Ash, don't you think you've done enough training?" Serena asked

"Yeah, you haven't even gotten anywhere" Gary added

"I should have known it wasn't going to be this simple" I sighed, returning my water-type Pokemon - Froakie, Oshawatt, and Totodile. "It's too bad there isn't anyone I could ask for help on this"

"The only other masters I know of are X and Y, and you can't exactly get ahold of them" Serena said

There were a few moments of silence.

"I've got it!" I said. "I think it's about time I went ahead and challenged my first gym in Kalos"

"Oh right, I was wondering when you were going to get to that" Gary said

"Most people tend to go to the gym in Santalune City for their first gym battle" Serena informed. "If you want, I can take you there"

"That'd be great. Thanks Serena"

**.**

"So how far away is Santalune City?" I inquired as we continued to a trail. On the left, there was a forest filled with wild Pokemon, and on the right there was a river that flowed down to the direction we were heading.

"By foot, about two hours" Serena answered

"Oh boy" I exhaled

"How far did you think it was?" Gary asked

"I don't know, like, a fifteen minute walk" I said

"And I'm the dumb one" Gary sighed and Serena giggled

"You're use to these kinds of walks though, aren't you Ash?" Serena pointed out

"Yup. Nothing like a good old adventure" I replied

We continued down the trail, occasionally passing by a small village. Nothing eventful happened until about thirty minutes later, when Gary decided to begin whispering into my ear.

"You should totally ask Serena out on a date already" He said

"You're crazy" I whispered back, a little louder

"Is everything alright?" Serena asked, turning with an eyebrow raised

"Everything's fine!" I quickly assured and Pikachu chuckled

After a peaceful and quiet walk, we finally arrived in Santalune City. It wasn't as big - or filled with as many people - as Lumiose City, but there was definitely a lot of people, and a lot of places to visit. We passed by a couple of shops and some unfamiliar Pokemon, until we came across a crowd that was gathered around a battle.

"There's a lot of people watching this fight" Gary said

"Might as well check it out" Serena suggested

After getting through the crowd, I noticed the battle was between a boy around our age with light green hair and an orange robe - his Pokemon was a Yanmega.

His opponent was an older man with rough black hair, a gray shirt, and white shorts. His Pokemon, a Crobat, was having trouble trying to land attacks on Yanmega, who was quickly evading all its attacks.

"I don't get it, what's so special about this fight?" Gary asked to no one in particular

"You guys don't know who Zack is?" a girl next to him asked back

"Nope" the three of us answered

"He's been getting a lot of attention around here lately for his speciality in bug-types; the kinds of moves he uses are strange but also powerful" they explained

"Yanmega, use Sonic Whirlwind" 'Zack' commanded

"Crobat, dodge it and use Steel Wing!"

A spiral of sound waves - that looked like a miniature tornado - shot out of Yanmega's eyes, pinning Crobat to the ground momentarily before exploding. Persistently, Crobat quickly flew out of the smoke and attempted a Steel Wing, but missed as Yanmega dodged, flying to the other side of the field.

"Use Atlas Beam" Zack said, sounding as if he intended to finish the move in that attack

The sun shone brighter down onto the battlefield, and in moments, a laser beam came down that struck Crobat, pinning it to the ground and exploding. When the smoke cleared, Crobat had been taken out for good. Zack returned his Yanmega and walked away, not bothering to speak any words. He walked past us, and as we made eye contact, time seemed to slow down as a grin spread across his ace. There was something about him - I could feel it, but couldn't explain it.

"Never heard of those moves before" Gary said as we continued on our way towards the Santalune City Gym

"I think I got it" Serena announced

"Got what?" I asked

"Well, that one girl said that he was known for his powerful bug-type Pokemon, and the strange moves he uses. I think he could have been the bug-type master" Serena said

"There was something I felt when looking at him, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it" I added

"X said that masters should be able to recognize each other" Serena recalled

Suddenly, a net came down from the sky, scooping up Pikachu and raising him off the ground. Looking up, I noticed a familiar balloon, logo, and trio. By now, I had had enough encounters with them to not be surprised they were here in Kalos and after Pikachu.

"Team Rocket" I muttered

"Looks like they still haven't given up" Gary said

"Sorry chum, but Team Rocket doesn't give up" Meowth replied

"Do you guys know these people?" Serena asked. "And is that a talking Meowth?"

"That's Team Rocket, people who like to steal Pokemon. They've been after Pikachu for a while now" I explained

"And now, we've finally succeed!" Meowth said

"If you don't mind, we'll be taking our leave now" James said

A smoke bomb fell down from the balloon, blindings us. When the smoke finally cleared, there was only the faintest sight of the balloon in the far distance.

"We have to go after them" Serena said, and we nodded

We ran in the direction of the balloon, causing people to give us strange looks, but we didn't mind them; we ran for about ten minutes until realizing that we had lost sight of the balloon.

"Oh man, we lost them" Gary exhaled, out of breath

"Check it out, there's smoke over there" Serena pointed off to the right

We decided to run towards the smoke, and sure enough, when we got close, Team Rocket's ballon had crashed. Pikachu spotted us and used Iron Tail to break out of the net - which had become de-powered - and ran back over, jumping onto my shoulder.

"Help... us" Meowth groaned as he crawled out from underneath

"What happened to you guys?" Gary inquired

"There was some kind of freak in a white robe!" Meowth exclaimed

"White robe? Anything else?" Serena said

"He had these staffs on his back, and his Charizard completely annihilated our Pokemon and our balloon in seconds" Meowth described

The three of us exchanged a quick glance with each other.

"Y"

James and Jessie crawled out from under the balloon, their clothes tattered and scratches over their body.

"Usually this would be battle time, but our Pokemon are already fainted" Jessie said

"But don't worry, we'll be back" James weakly lifted up a finger

Beneath the trio, a red circle of light appeared, and an explosion was set off seconds later, propelling them into the air as usual until they became nothing more than a sparkle in the distance.

"Will they be alright from that?" Serena questioned

"Oh, they'll be just fine" Gary said

Heavy metallic footsteps approached from behind, and we turned to be face to face with Y, who had a set of staffs I hadn't seen on him before. Between his bandanna and his hood, his eyes starred at us, as if calculating our every thoughts and our next moves.

"I can only imagine what kind of nuisance they are" He said, approaching us. Contrast to his eyes, his voice was smooth and calming, as if he didn't have a care in the world, but at the same time meant business.

Needless to say, the three of us were too surprised to say anything.

"Ash, there's something I would like to talk to you about" He requested, examining Gary and Serena. "Preferably alone"

I followed Y off to the side of a trail and a bit into the forest. We came across a small pond with a couple of Pokemon, and he sat down on a large rock, facing me. Here, the air was a lot colder, despite the sun shining brightly down onto the vicinity.

"I'm sure you know by now that the spirits have chosen you to become the next water-type master" He started off

"That's what Serena said" I replied

His eyes continued to stare directly into my soul. "You probably didn't realize it, but it happened exactly one year ago - when you were chosen. I know because my master, the previous water-type master, died one year ago"

Once again, I was still a little too surprised to say anything.

"You've got a riveting and determined personality, Ash. I could sense from miles away that you were attempting to train your water-type Pokemon"

"That's right, but I didn't really do anything special"

His stare diverted back to where we had come from. "On the surface level, you're pretty relaxed. But deep down, you're conflicted about a certain companion of yours. Until you get those feelings in check, you can't possibly become a master"

"What do you mean?"

"Love is a powerful emotion, be it positive or negative. It's the driving force behind many things, and also the downfall of others. You may think it's a simple crush, but your affection for Serena is much more than that" He explained. "You're conflicted on how you feel about her, and it's stopping you from beginning your training.

Once you get your feelings in check, I will train you to become the next water-type master, just like how your predecessor trained me"

Still, I was too shocked to say anything, so I just continued to look back at him.

"Think of it as me helping you in more than one way" He said. "Your time is limited until your left without the privilege of a choice. Decide how your truly feel about the girl, and then we'll have a conversation"

I watched as he walked away, still processing what he had said. I knew I definitely liked Serena in a romantic kind of way - my mom had to really explain it; she was thrilled to hear I had a crush on her - but I at least knew that love was something much more then a crush.

After a while, I headed back to my friends, and we began our way back to Santalune City.

Did I really love Serena? I think it was a possibility, but what confused me more was that he had said I had limited time until I didn't have a choice.

"Ready for your first gym battle?" Serena asked

"Never been more ready"


	18. Chapter Eighteen: Caught Feelings

**Serena**

**Adventuring** **was** **a** **lot** **quieter** **than** **I** **thought** **it** **would** **be.** Sure, it had been eventful so far, but there was no other sound besides Gary's humming and our footsteps. Ash looked like he was deeply thinking about something to himself, but I didn't feel like bothering him.

"I haven't ran that much in... I don't think I've ever ran that much" Gary complained

"We only ran for about fifteen minutes total" I replied

"Exactly" He replied. "Point is, I could totally pass out right now"

"You mean like that guy right over there" Ash pointed to a middle-aged man passed out on a bench table in a park.

Across the table, papers were scattered, and so was a tablet; he was lucky that there was no wind. He wore a white lab coat, and had circular glasses on that had become titled from the position he was sleeping in.

"Looks like he was working on something pretty hard" I said

"I don't know about you guys, but I totally want to find out what" Gary said, jogging over to the table before we got the chance to stop him

"Classic Gary; can't mind his own business" Ash sighed

I giggled. It was part of the reason I liked Ash; he was brave, confident, charismatic, and also funny during the rights times. When he first got to Kalos, I wasn't sure about how I felt towards him, because sure, I had a crush on him in the past, but wether or not that would carry over to present time was something that only time could tell; time told, and I was sure I had a big crush on Ash.

"Hey, are you alright?" Gary shook the man's shoulder, and he suddenly jumped up.

"W-Who are you people?" He asked, his voice coming off as if he hadn't slept in days.

"We were just passing by and saw that you'd fallen asleep" I answered

"Sorry if we bothered you," Ash apologized, "but Gary here insisted that we find out what you were working on"

"No problem at all" He said. "I'm always reluctant to have a conversation on what I'm researching; have a seat"

He gathered up his papers into an organized pile, and the three of us sat across the table from him. Gary asked what he was researching; he responded that he was working on finding out what makes X and Y so powerful - his name was Doctor Eckleburg, but we could call him Doc.

"Everyone wants to know, but no one bothers to try and find out" He explained

"That's what I'm saying!" Gary agreed. "We've met them a couple of times, heck, we just saw Y a few minutes ago"

"You have?" He asked, shocked and readjusting his glasses

"Coincidentally, we tend to bump into them quite a bit" I informed

"How lucky," He said - if only he knew - "I've never actually seen them in person besides the live matches, like when they fought the champions"

"Right. Serena said that they were pretty impressive then" Ash said

"Much more than just impressive" Doc slid his tablet across the table, facing us. "X's two-on-one match against Champion Lance and Cynthia is what first sparked my interest. Check out his finishing move"

He pressed play on the tablet, and we were brought to a live video of a stadium filled with a large crowd that rivaled the size of the Kalos League. The battlefield was flat and desert-themed; Cynthia had her Garchomp, and Lance had his Dragonite, while X was using a Mega Tyranitar.

"So far, neither Lance nor Cynthia have been able to land any major damage" said the commentator. "What will happen next? Will X finish them off, or will they find away to prevail"

X - whose identity I knew now - made some kind of ninja-like hand motions, and the ground began to shake as his voice echoed across the battlefield. "Secret God Art: Divine Wrath!"

Beneath Garchomp and Dragonite, a black circle of light appeared, and dark-purple vines arose from it, wrapping around both Pokemon and squeezing them tight. Purple lightning came down from the sky, electrocuting them as Tyranitar let out a powerful blast of energy that hit them, setting off a large explosion.

When the smoke cleared, both Pokemon had fainted, and the crowd went wild.

"As you can see, they produce very powerful moves the likes of which no one has ever seen before" Doc said. "I've made many hypothesis, but the only thing I managed to discover was that their moves were type specific, with X's being the dark-type, and Y's being the fire-type.

Not only that, but recently, there's a trainer by the name of Zack who specializes in bug-type Pokemon, and uses similar moves to X and Y"

"Yeah, we saw one of his battles earlier too" Gary said

While Gary and Doc got into some kind of conversation, Ash leaned in and whispered: "Do you think we should tell him?"

"Maybe not yet" I advised, and he nodded in agreement

We bid our farewell to Doc after a few more conversations - we decided against telling him about our type-master status - and continued on our way to Santalune City. When we got there, I froze in my tracks at the sight: burning buildings, people screaming in panic, and smoke arising from the center of the city. Red scorched the dark sky, and all I could see where the colors red, orange, and yellow. When I turned, both Ash and Gary had disappeared.

I dashed into the city, hoping to find anyone, but I couldn't find the origin of the screaming voices - whenever I would get close, they would chance locations.

"Ash?" I called out, standing on a water fountain - now dried up - in the middle of the city. "What in Arceus happened? Where is everyone?"

"Welcome to the future" a voice from behind me announced

Turning, I was unsurprised to see X standing in front of me. Flames burnt behind him, and the screaming only got louder with his presence.

"T-This is the future?" I asked

"Well, a future where your love for the boy prevails" X said

"But how could something like that cause all of this? It doesn't make any sense!" I countered, annoyed and frustrated

"Oh Serena, if this future isn't the result from that, then I will make it so" He insisted. Two columns of flames shot up from the ground behind him, and a building collapsed.

"You're just biased!" I said

"I have no reason to be" He chuckled, lowering down his hood - the eye beneath his scar was pure black. "I've learned of Y's little plot to bring the two of you together, but I can assure you that it will lead to this. I'm trying to prevent this from happening from Serena"

"Why should I trust you?" I demanded

"Why should you trust Y? After all, Ash doesn't even see you romantically - not one bit" X replied, and tears began to well up in my eyes from the jab. "After all, Y is just a stranger to you - his true identity as well. But me... you know me, or at least how I am"

"How you use to be" I pointed out

"I'm still the same" He grinned. The flames all around us began to grow even hotter, causing sweat to drip down the side of my face; tears began to fall from my eyes as well. "In order to avoid this future, you mustn't see Ash"

"But there isn't even anything between us..." I said, more tears flowing down. "there never will be"

"If that was true, then I wouldn't showing you this" He responded. "You have to forget Ash"

"I can't..."

"You will" His voice came out hypnotizing

From somewhere behind me, a loud and creepy bell began to sound, echoing throughout the city. I turned, taking my face out of my hands, and I could make out a figure approaching us through the tears that blurred my vision - it was Y; I could tell by the staffs on his back.

"Torturing the innocent?" Y said - his voice was a nice contrast to X's; it was calm and soothing - "I didn't think you would swoop so low"

"Mind your own business" X snarled

"Serena, he can't be trusted" Y turned to me. Between his bandana and hood, his eyes were strangely compelling. "If you let the darkness guild you and tell you what you should do, then you will descend into corruption"

"It's not about dark or light, Serena. I'm simply trying to save the future; this future" X said. "It may come off as harsh, but it's for the best. You can't listen to Y, there's a reason why he's followed by those bells you hear when he appears"

"There's a reason why one of us wears white, and the other black" Y said, removing one of his staffs of his back. "This isn't the future; this is your twisted dream"

He thrusted his staff into the ground, and the flames were extinguished. The ground shook, and the sky shattered like fragile glass. Before I knew it, I was back where I was minutes ago, on a trail with Gary and Ash, who was waving his hand in front of my face.

"Serena?" Ash said

"Huh?" I replied

"Are you alright?" Ash inquired "You just stopped for a second and started to look off into the distance"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just... realized something" I assured, and he nodded before we continued our way back to Santalune City.

It wasn't a complete lie - I did realized something: I liked Ash more than I thought I did. I went over the argument between X and Y over what I should do - on one hand, I actually knew who X was, and on the other, Y was a complete stranger to me. Though the obvious choice was Y - he represented purity after all - something in the back of my head kept telling me that he couldn't be trusted.

There's a reason why he's followed by those bells. Ever since Y had shown up to the cathedral to battle X, I did always think the bells were a bit creepy; they sounded like they were meant to strike fear, and I had no idea why they played when ever he showed up.

We entered Santalune City again, and I was relived to see that it was normal. Despite that, I still felt like I was being watched, and one time, I could have sworn I saw a pair of glowing yellow eyes staring at me from a dark alleyway. Moments after that, there was a loud bell that made me flinch.

"Are you scared of bells, Serena?" Ash joked

"N-No, it just reminded me of something" I faked a smile

Throughout the rest of the walk - I was leading them - the sound of Y's entrance bells was stuck in my head. The bells themselves sounded like they were old, and in the background it also sounded like an xylophone was being played on top of it. I liked that Y had saved us a lot of trouble so far, but I really wished he wasn't followed by those creepy bells.

"What are you thinking so hard about Serena?" Ash asked. "If you don't mind me asking"

I took a couple of seconds before reply. "Have you guys ever wondered why those bells play when Y comes along?"

"Come to think of it, they are a bit creepy" Gary said. "I just thought it was some kind of entrance theme, like in a cartoon"

"Yeah, but this is real life" Ash pointed out. "When you put some thought into it, the bells don't make any sense; they don't seem to be coming from anywhere in particular"

"It's almost like they get inside your head" Gary made a good point

What if X had been right? What if Y couldn't be trusted, and that me and Ash's future could potentially lead to what he had show me? If there was one thing influencing my decision, it was those darn bells - those creepy, old bells.

**Elsewhere**

"Ash... Serena... I never would have imagined you two would be so important" Y said under his breath as he walked down the trail towards no where in particular; he was a traveller who was always on the move. "And those bells keep following me"

Several visions of the future flowed through his head, mostly concerting Ash and Serena. The first couple of them was from their past at summer camp, but the rest were definitely that of the future - weeks from now even.

"Serena... why do you make that choice"


	19. Chapter Nineteen: Birth of a Master

**Narrator**

**The** **bells** **were** **still** **ringing** **in** **the** **distance**, vibrating across the forest trees and the small, independent village. Heavy metal feet crushed the pebbles on the rocky pathway, and the wind passing by the staffs on Y's back whistled in the wind, like a flute.

Villagers poked their heads out - some stepped out of their house and onto the porch - frightened at the sound of the old, creepy bells that passed through the walls and haunted their mind. Children clung to their parent's legs, and the elderly who sat on rocking chairs were intrigued to the presence of the figure passing through the village.

"May we help you?" asked a concerned parent

"No" Y answered simply

There were three teenagers on Y's mind: Serena, Ash, and Calem. They formed a triangle, and the centerpiece was Serena, who with one simple decision, could change the fate of Kalos as a whole. Of course, she was unaware that she held such importance - all three of them were - so she was, to a certain degree, blind.

"Mom, what are those bells?" a small child asked. "They're scaring me"

"I don't know sweetie"

Just as Y finished passing through the village, he felt a strange feeling come over him. He suddenly paused in his tracks and looked up towards the sky. "This sensation..."

**Serena**

"Finally!" Gary groaned as we made it to the entrance of the gym. "We're finally here! It took way longer than it should have!"

"Yeah, but at least we made it" I said as we entered the gym. In the hallway, professional photos taken of bug-type Pokemon were plastered on the wall.

"Look at all the pictures of these bug-type Pokemon" Ash said. "Is Zack the gym leader by any chance?"

"That would be me" a familiar voice echoed through the hallway. We turned, and Viola - the gym leader - was standing in front of a pair of doors. "I take it that you're Ash?"

"Yeah, that's right" Ash confirmed. "But how did you know I was coming?"

"I had a tip from someone" Viola winked before turning to me. "Nice to see you again Serena, how's Calem?"

"He's good" I answered, muttering I guess under my breath afterwards.

"Well I'm sure you must be eager for your gym battle, so let's get to that" Viola said

**.**

"This will be a two-on-two Pokemon battle! Once both Pokemon from either side can no longer continue, the match will end!" the ref stated out the rules. "Trainers, bring out your first Pokemon!"

"It's go time Surskit" Viola tossed up a Pokeball and released the Pond Skater Pokemon.

"Pikachu, I choose you!" Ash pointed out to the battlefield, and Pikachu hopped off his shoulder, getting ready for the battle ahead

"Hey Gary, are you going to enter the Kalos League?" I asked - we were on the stands behind the ref - "Ash told me you two were rivals"

"I'm not sure to be honest" He said. "For now, I'm more focused on my professor work; there's a lot of interesting stuff about Kalos"

"You got that right" I agreed as the ref declared the battle begin

The first move of the battle was Surskit firing up a beam of ice - I had seen this strategy before - that curved down and hit the ground, turning it into an ice rink of a battlefield. Ash looked confused first, but he had his thinking expression on.

"Pikachu, use Quick Attack!" Ash instructed at last

A white glow casted around him, Pikachu dashed forward, and was successful for a couple of moments until he slipped. Surskit took that to its advantage, firing a Bubble Beam that collided with Pikachu and set off a small explosion.

"Using Ice Beam to create a battlefield that has perfect conditions for Surskit" Gary analyzed. "I have to say, that's pretty smart"

"Surskit, it's time to skate" Viola said, and Surskit took off, beginning to circle around a Pikachu who was keeping its place. "Use Signal Beam!"

"I've got it" Ash said. "Pikachu, use your tail to stay planted on the ice, and then reflect that attack with Thunderbolt"

Sure enough, it worked as Pikachu's tail dug into the icy ground, keeping it in place as Signal Beam fired off. Thunderbolt collided with it, overpowering it after a couple of moments and electrocuting Surskit.

"Now use Electro Ball!" Ash continued

Pikachu jumped up and flipped, shooting an Electro Ball from its tail that hit Surskit, adding more damage onto it and setting off a small explosion. When the smoke cleared, Surskit had already taken heavy damage.

"Wow, you're good" Viola said. "I've never seen someone counter my ice rink so fast"

"Well I don't plan on losing" Ash replied. "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt again!"

"Surskit, dodge it and use Signal Beam!"

Surskit skated out of the way of Thunderbolt narrowly, and fired Signal Beam, which hit Pikachu and sent him flying back to the other side of the battlefield.

"Are you alright Pikachu?" Ash asked, receiving an affirmative nod in response

"Surskit, use Double Team" Viola commanded

Multiple Surskit appeared scatted across the battlefield. Ash and Pikachu looked around for a clue that would point to the real one, but no clue was given.

"If we can't find the real one, then we'll just take them all out" Ash said. "Pikachu, get to the center of the battlefield and use Thunderbolt!"

Before Viola or Surskit could react, Pikachu dashed to the middle of the battlefield and let loose a strong electrical blast of energy that shocked each Surskit, until the real one went flying back, hitting the ground with swirls in its eyes.

"He did it! Ash beat the first Pokemon!" I said excitingly

"I thought it would be more difficult, but I guess he did" Gary added

"That was great Ash; that might even be a record defeat for me" Viola returned Surskit and pulled out a different Pokeball. She tossed it up, and an unexpected Heracross came out.

"A Heracross..." Gary said. "Now that it looks it'll be more of a challenge"

She didn't use a Heracross when I came here with Calem I thought to myself.

The ice rink melted away, and the ref declared that the battle resume. Viola made the first move, commanding for Pin Missile; Pikachu was unable to dodge as a frenzy of seeds exploded around it. The smoke cleared, and Pikachu had taken some decent damage from the attack.

"Pikachu, use Quick Attack!" Ash said

"Stop that with Focus Punch!" Viola defended

Heracross's fist glowed white as it flew forward, hitting Pikachu midair and sending him crashing to the ground.

"Now use Hyper Beam!" Viola added

"Dodge it Pikachu!" Ash attempted

Light particles began to gather towards Heracross, and it fired off a Hyper Beam; Pikachu was unable to dodge, getting hit by Hyper Beam, which set off an explosion. Before the smoke could clear, a Thunderbolt shot out of it, barely missing Heracross as it dodged.

"Looks like you're still hanging in there" Viola said. "Heracross, use Megahorn!"

"Pikachu, use Iron Tail!" Ash replied

Horn glowing green, Heracross charged forward at Pikachu, whose tail turned to steel. Their attacks clashed, sending a shockwave throughout the entire room. They both went flying back, but Heracross quickly shot forward, hitting Pikachu with Focus Punch and finishing him off.

"That Heracross is super fast" I said

"So it won't be an easy fight after all" Gary said

"Thanks Pikachu, you were great" Ash walked over and picked up Pikachu to place next to him on his spot. "Froakie, you're next!"

Ash tossed up his Pokeball, which released Froakie, who looked happy to battle, from the red light.

"He's going with Froakie?" I questioned

"It seems like a bit of a risk, but knowing Ash, he probably wants to get some practice with Froakie in" Gary explained

"Alright Froakie, looks like this will be our first official battle together, so let's do our best" Ash said; Froakie nodded, a determined look on its face

"Well we're not going to hold back" Viola assured. "Heracross, use Hyper Beam!"

"Froakie, use your bubbles to blind him!" Ash instructed

Quickly reacting, Froakie jumped up and took a couple of pieces of bubbles from the back of its neck and tossed them; the bubbles stuck to Heracross's eyes, blinding him.

"Now use Water Pulse!" Ash continued

"Take the bubbles off and use Megahorn!" Viola countered

Heracross wiped away the bubbles and hit Froakie midair with Megahorn just in time, sending him flying down towards the ground; Froakie was able to land safely, not taking any additional damage.

"Nice landing Froakie" Ash said and Froakie nodded, a slight smile on its face

"Alright Heracross, use Focus Punch!" Viola commanded

"Stop that with Cut!" Ash said

Froakie conjured up a white blade of energy and jumped forward, using the blade to block Heracross's fist successfully. The two bounced back form each other, and Froakie acted on its own, hitting Heracross in the face with a Water Pulse.

"Looks like this isn't your run of the mill Froakie" Viola said

"You got that right. Froakie's amazing" Ash agreed

The two trainers and Pokemon stared each other off, waiting for the other to make the first move. For a moment, I noticed that both Ash and Froakie's eyes flashed bright blue, and their arms twitched in sync.

"Use Pin Missile!" Viola resumed

"Dodge it!"

Heracross fired a frenzy of seeds, and Froakie successfully dodged most of them, but was hit by the last one, which exploded upon contact. Viola continued with Megahorn, and Froakie wasn't able to move out of the way as it got hit by Heracross's horn, getting sent back to the other side of the field.

"Focus Punch!"

"Block it with Cut again!"

The two Pokemon clashed in the center of the battlefield again, but Heracross overpowered Froakie, landing a direct blow that crashed him straight down into the ground. As Froakie was slowly getting up, Heracross shot a Hyper Beam that hit and exploded.

"Oh no, did he lose?" I said

"I'm not sure" Gary mumbled

After a couple of tense moments, the smoke cleared, and Froakie was still in the battle, looking more determined than ever. Ash noticed his look, and commanded for a move I hadn't heard before: Hydraulic Punch.

An aura of water covered Froakie as it jumped up, hitting Heracross with a powerful uppercut and then another punch that sent him crashing into the wall behind Viola.

"What was that?" Gary asked, a bit surprised

"No clue" I replied

Ash himself looked surprised, but shook it off as Froakie returned to his original position on the battlefield. Heracross slowly got back up and hovered to its original position as well, having taken massive damage from just those two blows.

"I don't know what that was, but it won't be enough to take us down" Viola said. "Heracross, use Pin Missile!"

"Use your bubbles to stop it, and then use Cut!" Ash instructed in defense

More seeds shot out Heracross, but Froakie tossed its bubbles at it, canceling it out and exploding. Use the lack of visibility through the smoke of the impact, Froakie used Cut and slashed through Heracross mid air. Then, to all of our surprises, Heracross fainted and dropped down to the ground.

"H-Heracross has fainted; Froakie is the winner, which means Ash the challenger is the victor!" The ref declared

"He really did it!" I exclaimed

"I have no idea how he did it so fast, but yeah!" Gary said

Viola simply accepted her defeat, smiling and returning her Heracross. Ash thanked Froakie and returned them, and the two met in the center of the battlefield, shaking hands.

"You have one exceptional Froakie, Ash" She said

"I know, but we still have ways to go" He replied

The ref walked up to them with a case in his hands. Viola took out a badge I had seen before and pretend it to Ash.

"To show proof of your victory at the Santalune City Gym, I present to you the Bug Badge!" Viola handed it over, and Ash gladly accepted it

**Elsewhere**

"That sensation I felt..." Y muttered as he passed through a forest, the creepy bells that followed scaring off all of the wild Pokemon. "It couldn't be stage seven..."

A twig snapped, catching Y's attention. He turned around and spotted two Ursaring and a Machamp with unfriendly looks on their faces. Without a second thought, he removed a staff and thrusted it into the ground, calling out a Cinderace - Galar's fire-type starter in its final evolution. The wild Ursaring growled, and along with the Machamp began to approach slowly.

"Could it be Bond Phenomenon" Y thought to himself out loud, forgetting about the wild Pokemon

"Scaring the Pokemon are we?" A green-robed man jumped down from a tree. "I'm afraid that you've caused quite the disturbance to the wild Pokemon with your music"

"It's not music" Y said

"Not the point" the man dismissed. "All three of you, use Hyper Beam and show our friend a good time"

"God Sleeper" Y commanded, his voice echoing loudly throughout the forest.

A purple circle of light appeared beneath the Ursaring and Machamp; a massive column of white light shot out of it, swallowing up the Pokemon and exploding, the resulting shockwave shaking the tress in the forest to their roots. When the smoke cleared, all three Pokemon had fainted.

"Bond Phenomenon... I must investigate"


	20. Chapter Twenty: Who Will It Be, Serena?

**Narrator** **/** **October** **12th** **(4** **Weeks** **Later)** **/** **1pm**

**Both** **X** **and** **Y** **had** **been** **waiting** **patiently** **the** **last** **month** **or** **so**, waiting to see how Serena's relationship would develop between Ash and Calem respectively. They both knew that the clock had finally hit zero, and that today was the day.

"At last, the Bonds of Amour will be developed in my favor" X said - he was standing on top of a mountain that overlooked Lumiose City and Vanville. Black mist flowed around him, polluting the air.

"How can you be so sure, Master?" Corvinight asked, perched on his shoulder

"I can feel it" X answered. "I took matters into my own hands and had a little chat with Calem. Since then, he's returned to his normal self, and I can really feel the spark between him and the fairy-type master"

"The goal you've been after for so long will finally be complete then" Corvinight said. "I thought it would take a lot longer, but here we are..."

"The last time two elemental masters fell in love was one hundred years ago" X muttered, making a fist. "I was lucky to have been sent to this time period, because Serena will finally break that streak"

"And if she chooses Ash?" Corvinight inquired

"She won't" X assured, completely positive.

**Serena**

"I just can't seem to replicate it" Ash said, wiping sweat from his forehead with a rag and sitting down on the grassy field

"Looks like it happened because you were in the moment" Calem guessed - we were sat on a rock together, watching Ash train with Froakie against Gary.

It was a cool Saturday, not too hot or cold, and we were out near a large lake with a nice field overlooking it. Wild Fletching chirped off to our side, and other Pokemon were minding their own business on the other side. Over the past month, Calem was starting to seem a lot more like his old self again, so we were glad to have him around at times like this.

"Why don't you give it a shot, Calem?" I suggested. "Maybe Bisharp will push Froakie to use a special move, or whatever they're called"

"They're called Hidden Arts" a voice startled us all - I almost fell off the rock - and the creepy bells began to ring throughout the vicinity. Fletching quickly flew away, and the Pokemon feeding off the grass ran away.

"Y" Calem said. "What are you doing here?"

"Four weeks ago I felt a strange sensation coming from somewhere in Santalune City, where I knew Ash was having his gym battle" He explained. "I have a hypothesis I would like to test"

"You're offering me a battle?" Ash asked

"Froak!" Froakie got hyped, excited for a potential battle with the legendary trainer

"Before you do that, I have an idea" Calem announced, hopping of the large rock we were sat on. "Why don't we have a battle, and Ash can see how Hidden Arts work?"

Y's eyes closed, as if he was thinking about it. "Very well. But if you loose... you'll have to do me a favor"

"Fine by me" Calem agreed

**.**

"This'll be the first time watching a battle between two type-masters" Gary said. "Without counting the unofficial one with X and Y"

"That's right. This will be an official, fair battle" I responded

Calem pulled out his dented Pokeball and tossed it up, releasing Bisharp from its containment. Y removed a golden staff with a trophy on the tip and thrusted it into the ground; a Pokemon I hadn't seen before came out.

"Can't say I've seen that Pokemon before" Ash said, his Pokedex also displaying it didn't know of its existence

"I've always wanted a shot at Cinderace" Calem said

"Oh! A Cinderace" I realized. "That's Scorbunny's final evolution. He's the fire-type starter of the Galar Region"

"Cool" Ash and Gary both said 

"Don't hold back on me" Calem warned. "Bisharp, use Steel Blade Dance!"

Y made a fist with one hand and pressed it against the palm of the other. "Secret Art: Time Skip"

Bisharp's arms glowed bright silver, and it dashed forward rapidly; Cinderace lunged forward, but disappeared into thin air. Confused, Bisharp stopped and did a complete three-sixty to try and spot the missing opponent. Suddenly, Cinderace reappeared behind Bisharp and hit him in the back, causing him to crash into a tree.

"Hidden Art... Secret Art... I'm lost" Gary said

"Calem's explained this to me before" I said. "A Hidden Art are the moves that type-masters use the most, the ones that we've never heard of. Back in the old days, everyone use to be able to use them, but they were outlawed for being too dangerous, and now only type-masters can activate them.

Secret Arts are the equivalent of Hidden Arts back in the old days, only type-masters back then could use them. They're are a lot more powerful, but can't be used excessively. Finally, there's something called a Secret God Art, but Calem doesn't really know anything about that"

"Bisharp, Iron Roar!" Calem commanded

A silver aura appeared around Bisharp, and it fired a spiral of energy from its mouth - it looked like Dark Pulse - that zipped through the air towards Cinderace, exploding upon impact. The smoke cleared, and where Cinderace had been, there was a cocoon of flames.

The cocoon exploded into sparkles of flames, and Cinderace had been under it, completely protected from Bisharp's attack.

"Use Fire Roar" Y said

An aura of flames surrounded Cinderace as it fired an identical attack to Bisharp's - except composed of flames - from its mouth.

"Bisharp, defend with Iron Scales"

Just before Fire Roar could land, there was a loud thud as Bisharp became made of complete metal; the flames simply split off into different directions upon contact, having no affect.

"How's that for defense?" Calem said. "Bisharp, use Brilliant Tantrum"

"Cinderace, use Dragon Fist" Y countered

The ground shook, and metal poles became to burst out of the ground, moving up and down rapidly like pistons. Cinderace's fist light up with golden flames as it quickly zigzagged through the moving poles, only its afterimage visible. It passed through the field of poles and lunged at Bisharp, who used Iron Scales again at the last second.

Cinderace smashed its fist against the metal-composed Bisharp with Dragon Fist, doing minor damage and simply sending it sliding back against the ground. Steam arose from Cinderace's fist as Bisharp returned to its normal composition.

Y was about to utter another command, but a diagonal metal pole burst out of the ground in front of Cinderace, hitting it in the gut and sending it flying back to its original position on the battlefield.

"He actually got an attack off" Ash said

"I told you not to take me lightly" Calem reminded

"If you want it that way" Y said, and the ground began to shake as Cinderace got back up. "Secret God Art: Tower of Babel"

A red circle of energy appeared beneath Bisharp, and columns of flames shot up, jailing him in and leaving him nowhere to go. There was a loud roar from up above, and we watched as the sky was split open by a pair of claws. A dragon poked its head through the crack in the sky and shot a blast of fire that hit Bisharp, setting off a large explosion that swallowed us up as well.

The smoke cleared - we were all coughing - and Bisharp had taken absolutely no damage from the attack. I looked back up, but I saw nothing off about the sky, despite it just having been split open by some kind of reality-bending dragon.

"I realized that it was just an illusion, and countered accordingly" Calem explained

"You were still too late" Y pointed out. "God Sleeper"

A purple circle of energy appeared beneath Bisharp, and five additional ones above him that all floated in the air. A massive column of energy shot out of the ground, swallowing up Bisharp, and exploding for real this time. We waited for what seemed like forever before the smoke cleared - this time, Bisharp had fainted.

"Well, guess I lost" Calem said, returning Bisharp and thanking him. "So what's this favor you wanted me to do? Can't be too bad right?"

Y returned his Cinderace, and his staff to his back; he walked over to Calem, standing shoulder to shoulder with him, but facing opposite directions - it was something both X and Y tended to like to do. I didn't hear what Y said, but Calem's eyes widened, and he looked over at me with a somber look on his face.

"But I can't do that..." He protested, now suddenly sounding depressed

**Ash**

Y said something else to Calem, and he sighed in defeated, his eyes closed and facing the ground. The two walked back over, and Serena had a concerned look on her face as they did.

"Something wrong Calem?" She asked

"No, but I have to go" He said, walking past us and back towards where we had come from to get here

"What did you tell him to do?" Serena raised her eyebrow at Y

"He has to... complete a mission" He answered. "Ash, come with me"

Gary and Serena gave me a confused look, and I just shrugged before walking off to follow Y, who was heading into the forest.

"What's going on now?" I asked once we were out of ear range

"Do you recall our last conversation?" He inquired

"You mean the one about Serena?" I recalled, my cheeks heating up at the topic

"I told you that your feelings were conflicted, and that until you sorted them, you wouldn't be able to use Hidden Arts" Y said. "When I said that soon you'll be left without a choice, I meant that that time was now"

"Choice of what though?"

"Have you ever heard of something called the Bonds of Amour?" Y asked, and I shook my head. "One hundred years ago, two type-masters fell in love, and they caused those bonds to reform. When they form, the energy caused by them can be harnessed by an outside force and used for evil or good depending on what type-masters we're talking about.

A hundred years ago, the ice-type and flying-type masters fell in love, and because the ice-type is super effective on the flying-type, the Bonds of Amour were able to be harnessed for bad intentions"

"So were they?"

"No one was around to go through with it" Y denied. "But now... Ash, have you noticed Calem's changed in attitude?"

"Ever since my gym battle against Viola, he's acted a lot more... normal I guess" I said

"Yes" Y nodded. "And he and Serena have been becoming closer, haven't they? Keep in mind I only need the truth"

"Well to be completely honest, it does make me a little jealous" I admitted

"Tell me Ash... what is the steel-type super effective on?"

"Ice, Rock, and... Fairy" I answered

"The fairy and water typing have no relationship" Y pointed out. "I think I see where I'm going with this"

"I think I do" I said. "But is there anyone around who would be willing to use the Bonds of Amour like that"

"Lots"

**Serena** **/** **10pm**

It was really dark out, and I was sitting at the porch of my house in a rocking chair; I was looking at Ash's house, but was more zoned out and just thinking about what had happened earlier between Y and Calem. Off to my left, I heard footsteps crunch against the rocks, and I made out the silhouette of a figure approaching me.

Calem stepped out of the darkness, a neutral look on his face. I was relieved that it was him and not someone like X.

"Hey" I said

"Hey" He replied. "I have to tell you something"

"I'm all ears" I patted the chair next to me, and he reluctantly sat down in it

"I've been thinking about this for a while," He began, "and after what Y told me today, I thought you deserved to know"

My heart rate picked up, and I shifted in my chair uncomfortably. I had an idea of where this was going, but I wasn't entirely sure.

"Serena, I know it's pretty obvious - even though I don't think you knew - but I kind of had a crush on you a few years ago" Calem admitted, and my cheeks heated up. "Not really had; I still do... er, what I'm trying to say is I like you, like more than friends"

It was like time suddenly paused as I glanced between Ash's house and Calem, who was sat next to me. During Elementary and most of Middle, I had a crush on him too, but I never figured that he liked me too. Either I was really blind, or it wasn't as obvious as he said it was.

And over the past few weeks, I had began to felt some of those same feelings again as he returned back to how he use to be. If Calem really did like me, then I guessed he was here to make things official. Taking one more glance at Ash's house, I thought about my choices. I really did like Ash - a lot; more than my words could form - but I seriously doubted he returned my feelings like Calem did.

"Serena?" Calem asked, and I came out of my daydream

"I um... I think I like you too, Calem" I said, deciding that my feelings for Ash were probably not going to get me anywhere

The two of us simply stared back at each other for a couple of moments until we awkwardly stood up and out of our chairs.

"So..." He said

"So..."

"I guess we make it official then?"

"I guess so"

**Elsewhere**

"The chains that hold me back have finally snapped to pieces, releasing me from my containment" X said as if he was announcing it to the entire world. Black mist with a golden outline flowed around him, and he breathed in the power. "The other me did well"

"Did she do it?" Corvinight

"She did" X grinned, pulling down his hood and breaking out into a sinister laugh that slowly contorted into something else louder, deeper, and more sinister.


	21. Chapter Twenty One: A New Age

**Narrator** **/** **October** **13th** **/** **5pm**

**It** **wasn't** **raining** **like** **it** **never** **had** **before,** **but** **Ash** **didn't** **care,** because he was too busy distracting himself in training with his water-type Pokemon. If his emotions hadn't been in tact before, then they definitely weren't now.

"I guess I really did screw up, sorry guys" Ash apologized to his Pokemon

"Froak" Froakie assured that it was fine, and both Totodile and Oshawatt agreed with him

Ash sat down in the rain with his normal clothes on, no raincoat or umbrella either. It was raining heavy enough that his clothes felt heavy, and that he was sure he was going to get sick. He looked up to the sky, and thought I should have just told her, now I missed my chance.

From behind him, the old, creepy bells began to play, and Ash didn't bother turning around, instead waiting for Y to speak. "You're going to catch a cold like this, and then you won't have any time to train"

"I figured that it would be easier to train my water-types in the rain" Ash replied

"I would make an analogy to explain how idiotic that is," Y said, "but I think you already understand"

"Yeah"

"Are you aware that this rain was caused by you?" Y put his hand out and let the raindrops hit it and slide off - if you asked him, it was a nice feeling, especially against his metal glove

"By me?" Ash questioned

"It's a response to your emotional state" Y said. "If it wasn't caused by you, I would be concerned, considering how heavy it's raining. Whatever is bothering you must be really important"

"I didn't listen to you" Ash sat back, laying flat against ground and facing the sky, letting the rain drip off of him. "I was too scared to tell Serena how I felt, and Calem beat me to it. Now it's too late, and I don't think I'll ever get the chance to tell her"

There was a momentary pause of silence that scared Ash to a degree. "You mean to tell me... Serena is with Calem?"

"I'm sorry" Ash said. "It's my fault, and now the Bonds of Amour or whatever are at risk"

"Humans make mistakes, especially when there's fear. It's only natural, and I can't say I blame you" Y said. "If I have to protect the bonds the hard way, then so be it. Though I do wish you didn't care for Serena so much - at least romantically - because then you wouldn't be moping around, and you could actually get some training in"

"Is there anything I can do?" Ash asked

"Not right now" Y turned to walk away. "But I'll tell you one thing. While it has a simple name, Hydraulic Punch is an extremely advanced move"

**.**

"It's raining so heavily" Calem observed from the café window

"I wonder if we should be concerned" Serena said

"Maybe; we shouldn't be getting rain like this out of the blue, no pun intended" Calem said

Serena giggled. "I don't think it's anything to worry about"

The rain finally died down fifteen minutes later, around the time that both of them were expected to be home at. They parted ways with a simple hug, and walked in opposite directions away from the café that they had gone to.

Calem had a smile plastered on his face as he walked home, passing through a small forest towards his large house - basically a mansion; his father was deeply invested into business and made a lot of money. His smile was stuck on him the whole walk through, until he heard the sound that he feared most. The old, creepy bells that echoed through the entire vicinity, vibrating the walls of his brain and haunting his thoughts.

His smile quickly faded, and he froze in place, his heartbeat speeding up as he scanned his peripheral for anything. The sound kept coming closer and closer, until he heard the footsteps from behind stop just a couple of feet away.

"I thought we had a deal"

"And I thought you knew I couldn't go through with it" Calem replied

"Your love for Serena is going to cause big problems" Y said. "But alas, this isn't the endgame; this is just a phase that will blow over with time"

"And who are you to judge?" Calem asked

"I've calculated the future; I've studied the past. Know this Calem: if I wanted to have my way, I could have it in an instant" Y replied

Though he wanted to, Calem was unable to run, instead frozen in fear. His heart rate was so fast, Y could practically hear it out attempting to beat out of his chest from where he stood.

"Why should fate get to choose who I love?" He said quietly, almost a whisper to himself

"It's not fate" Y removed a staff off his back. "Serena may be the girl for you... but you're not the boy for her"

**.**

Serena was almost home when she heard a twig snap, followed by a branch split from a tree and fall from the ground. There was a light thud as two feet touched the ground, and she turned to her right to see the black-robed X and his Corvinight, who was perched on his shoulder like usual.

"I'm impressed" He said. "You really did it; you saved the future"

"You're still on about that?" Serena scowled. "I thought you were just trying to trick me; I didn't get with Calem because of you"

"Regardless, you still served your purpose" X lowered down his hood, and this time, his face felt different to look at because of the circumstances. "As a little reward for your success, I'll tell you what happened to your father"

"My... dad?"

"I knew that the conditions for my plan to succeed were perfect" X began. "The fairy-type master had a daughter who met all of the conditions, that if he were to fall, that she would become the next in line. After doing some research, I discovered how close you were with the steel-type master, Calem Xavier. If something were to happen to your father, you would become the next fairy-type master. From there, all I needed to do was make you and Calem fall in love.

The Bonds of Amour will finally be mine for the taking, given time. I hope that in the near future you become a strong trainer just like your father. He really put up a good fight when I ended him; I had to use one of my most powerful attacks to finish it"

Everything that he had said hit her at once, and tears began to fall from her eyes. She looked away, not wanting to associate that face - minus the scar - with what was causing her to feel this way. As much as she tried, she was unable to stop herself from crying.

"When the time comes for me to cultivate a new world - my world - I think I may let you live" X continued. "There would be no fun in letting you die after everything you've done for me"

"You're... not the Calem that I know"

"I have his face don't I?"

"But you're not him"

"I'm what he could become" X's right eye, where he had his scar, turned pure-black, the iris glowing bright red. "He almost did a couple of times, but it was you who prevented that"

"What are you?" Serena asked, her voice barely coming out

"An alternate timeline version of Calem who was sent here by mistake when I was little" X explained. "I was trained by the previous water-type master alongside Y, until I struck a deal with a primordial entity that transformed me into this"

"You don't have to be like this" Serena said

"He doesn't let go"

"Who's he?"

"...Abbadon"

**Ash** **/** **8pm**

"I'm not going to get anywhere like this" I sighed, sitting down on a rock - the same rock Serena had sat on with Calem yesterday - and returned Froakie.

"Pika" Pikachu pointed out

"I know" Ash said

The minutes passed by like years, and occasionally I would come up with an idea to train Froakie, but I was too demotivated to actually try any of them out. I was about to hop off the rock and go home, when I heard the voice I didn't want to hear call out to me.

"Ash?" Serena asked

I turned, and I spotted her walking over with a concerned look on her face. Were non-single girls allowed to have that look on when talking to other boys? I wondered.

"Oh, hey Serena" I responded, faking a smile, which must of look really genuine because she smiled back

"What are you doing out here so late?" She inquired

"I guess I could ask the same question, couldn't it?"

"Well, you got me there" Serena hopped up onto the rock next to me, and we sat in silence until she spoke again. "Do you really think I can become the next fairy-type master? If a really good trainer like you is having trouble, I'm doubting if I can do it"

"Are your emotions... intact?" I asked

She gave me a confused look. "What do you mean?"

"Y said that if I wanted to start learning to become the next water-type master, that I had to have emotions in check" I explained

"And they aren't?"

"Not really"

"Oh" She said. "I don't think mine are either..."

"Something wrong?" I finally turned and looked her in the eyes, which was harder than I thought it was going to be

"To be honest, I'm not really sure" She admitted. "Things are good, but I feel like they could be better. Maybe a lot better"

"Yeah, I can understand that" I said

We once again sat in silence, and I wondered what it would be like if we could do this everyday. There was no denying the fact that I was jealous of Calem, but if Serena was happy with him, then there wasn't anything I could do, and there wasn't anything I was going to do.

"When's your next gym battle? It's been a whole month" Serena asked

"It's already Sunday, so I'll probably go for it next week" I answered

"The next go-to place would be Cyllage City. It's not too far from Santalune City" Serena informed. "Just tell me when you want to go, and I'll be happy to take you there"

"Thanks" I said, though I wasn't planning on taking her - not like this. "We should probably start going back now, before it's too late to see anything"

Serena nodded, and we hopped off the rock, heading back to our houses. Once we reached the midpoint between them, we gave each other a small goodbye-wave. I entered the house, Pikachu on my shoulder, and immediately sat down on my bed, turning on the TV for something to distract me.

I didn't pay too much attention to the battle being played on TV, until I heard the name Steven Stone. I looked up, and noticed it was a rebroadcast of Y VS Steven Stone. Serena had told me that Y had beaten Steven in record time, and considering the battle was just beginning, I was about to see what she really meant by that.

"Metagross, use Meteor Mash!" Steven commanded - he had Mega Evolved his Shiny Metagross off the start

"Charizard, use Dragon Fist" Y countered

The two Pokemon charged at each other, but Charizard managed to overpower Metagross, sending him slamming against the ground. Before Metagross could recover, Charizard fired a Flamethrower composed of white flames that exploded upon impact, covering the field in smoke. Charizard's silhouette moved downwards, and it looked like it was attacking Metagross.

When the smoke cleared, Metagross had already fainted, and the ref, who was in shock, declared that Y was the victor. The crowd went wild, and the camera zoomed in, panning around. It was when they did that, that I noticed Serena, Calem, and Shauna sitting in the stands, having watched the battle. Even stranger, a couple of levels higher than them, I spotted X watching the battle as well.

I feel asleep thinking about how different things might have turned out if I had just told Serena my feelings towards her - just how much I cared about her. On one hand, maybe she had feelings for me as well, and she might have been with me instead of Calem. On the other, I might have just embarrassed myself. I thought about what Y had said, and going over it, he seemed confident that if I had gone for it, I would have had a shot.

Needless to say, I had difficulty sleeping that night.


	22. Chapter Twenty Two: Outside Help

**Narrator** **/** **November** **10th** **(Weeks** **Later)**

**The** **Airport** **in** **Lumiose** **City** **was** **as** **busy** **as** **ever,** especially with people just arriving to meet up with family for Thanksgiving Break. It made having a trip to Kalos a bit more difficult, but our group was sure that it was worth it - after all, they had never been out of Alola before.

"Man, Kalos is super cold"

"Probably because you don't have a shirt on. I'm pretty warm myself"

"Kiawe, put on a shirt please" Lillie requested

"Fine" Kiawe sighed, pulling a shirt on over his head, which was a pretty rare sight to see

"If I remember correctly, we just head directly straight until we see the large tower, which means we'll have arrived in Lumiose City" Sophocles said, studying the map he had been given

"I can't wait!" Lana said. "I wonder what it's like; I've never been out of Alola before"

"None of us have, which means its a new experience for all of us" Mallow pointed out

The group of five made their way out of the airport with some difficulty, and headed straight down the pathway. After about ten minutes of walking, they decided to take a shortcut through a forest, and it didn't take them long to regret it.

"Anybody hear that?" Lana asked the group

"I don't hear anything" Mallow shrugged

On cue, old and creepy bells began to ring throughout the forest, and the group stopped in their tracks. A cold breeze blew past them, and wild Pokemon scattered from the scene. The bells were coming closer to them, closing distance, and vibrating against the trees. To them, it sounded like something straight out of a horror movie.

Mallow, Lana, Lillie, and Sophocles hid behind Kiawe, who quickly protested to the idea. "Hey! What are you guys doing?"

"You're the toughest one, so you deal with it" Lillie said

"But I'm too young to die!" Kiawe exclaimed as the bells became louder, almost deafening

A figure appeared within their eyesight down the trail. They wore metal armor, a white - almost grey - robe pulled over it, and had a bandanna on that left only his piercing black eyes visible. Five staffs were placed on his back, and the group pushed Kiawe forward, who brought out a Pokeball for safe measures.

"You all must be from Alola" He said; his voice was calm and collected, which was a strange contrast to his appearance and presence

"That's right" Kiawe answered

"I was informed of your arrival ahead of time, so I decided to come and meet you halfway"

"We weren't told about that" Lillie replied

"It was a last minute decision. Professor Sycamore must have forgotten to inform Kukui" He explained. "Come with me, I will take you to the lab"

Though the bells that followed him were creepy and intimidating, the group reluctantly began to follow him. In his eyes, they could tell that he meant no harm, but they were still on guard. Kiawe walked side by side with him, while the rest of the group kept back a couple of steps.

"So I don't suppose you have a name?" Kiawe asked. There was a brief moment of silence, and Kiawe instantly regretted asking the question, until he received an answer.

Their guide pulled down their bandana, revealing their face, and said, "My name is Custos, but the citizens of Kalos refer to me as Y"

"That's an odd nickname. How'd you get it?" Kiawe continued to press

"Me and my counterpart, X, are named after the region's legendary Pokemon, Yveltal and Xerneas" Y answered

"How cool, but what's with those bells?" Lillie asked

"That's the past"

**Serena** **/** **1am**

It had been a long night - I had spent most of the day hanging out with Calem - and when I finally drifted off to sleep, it was straight into a nightmare.

I was somewhere in Lumiose City, running away from explosions that were being set off throughout the city like landmines. People were running for their life in the same direction as me, and I could see up above that Rayquaza was battling off against a Deoxys in the midst of thunderclouds. In this distance, Kyurem and Yveltal were destroying buildings and freezing people - wether it be stone or ice.

Behind, and currently chasing us, there was a flock of Ramparados with bright-red glowing eyes. In front of us, two Grimmsnarl appeared, and the crowd of people split directions in order to avoid them. I went off to the right, zigzagging through alleyways, until I tripped on something and fell onto my stomach. There was growling from behind me, and I tilted my head to see that one of the Grimmsnarl had hunted me down.

Turning back around, there was hand stretched out to me, and I looked up to see Ash with a warming smile on his face. I took his hand, and he pulled me up in the exact same way he had all those years ago in summer camp - where he had been "saving" me too. He pulled with a little bit too much force, and we were put into an accidental hug. But, it felt nice and warm, just like home was suppose to feel like. The surroundings sounds blurred out, and then died a couple of moments later, and I woke up somewhere around one in the morning, missing the ironic warmth from my nightmare.

Somehow, I was able to go back to sleep that night, and woke up early around seven in the morning, two hours before I was expected to be at school. I covered myself with my blanket, and walked out into my large backyard where the Rhyhorn were. Today - or at least this morning - it was foggy, and it was a bit hard to see. I flinched as soon as the old clocks kept playing, and I was confused, because they sounded like they were coming from up above.

"You're up early" Y said; I found him sitting on a branch of the tree next to me. He had to have been about fifteen feet up from the ground.

"What are you doing here?" I asked

"Can I have an apple?" He inquired, picking a green one off my tree. "I like the green ones the most; the sourness just feels right"

"I asked you a question" I put my hands on my hips sternly. "Plus, if you want the apple, you'll have to lower your bandana, which would show me your identity"

"If you want to know why I'm here so badly, it because's I sensed dark energy in this particular vicinity" Y explained. "I didn't mean to come here in particular"

"Dark energy? Here?"

"Did anything strange happen recently?"

"I had a nightmare last night if that means anything"

"Interesting" the apple in his hand caught fire. The black smoke coming off of it hid his face, except for one of his eyes that a golden glow to it. "Tell me about this nightmare"

"Well, there were lots of legendary Pokemon battling it out and destroying the city, and I was running from a flock of rampant Ramparados until I was cornered by a Grimmsnarl. I cut the corner and went into an alleyway, but I tripped, and... and..." I hesitated in finishing the dream, knowing what happened next. "Ash was there, h-he uh... helped me back up"

"That's strange" Y said. "I knew a girl who had a similar dream once - rampaging and battling legendary Pokemon. It may be a vision of the future if anything"

The apple finished its disintegration, and the smoke vanished into the fog. Y let the ashes of what had been his green apple sprinkle the ground beneath him.

"A vision of the future... but what could cause something so terrible to happen?"

His eyes and countenance suddenly darkened. "With our current circumstances, it may not be entirely possible. Between the reemergence of the elemental spirits, and X's plot..."

"I'm not getting you at all" I said

"It's time you learned everything" Y decided. "It all started fifteen years ago, around the time you and your friends were born, when a fluctuation in time sent a parallel timelines Calem to this world. The previous water-type master took us both in, and also the girl I mentioned before.

But something happened eight later, when we were all eleven years old. A primordial entity by the name of Abbadon followed Calem from his world, and began its rampage. The water, grass, fire, electric, and steel-type masters were able to seal him away, but at the cost of their lives. It's been years since then, but that entity slowly began to start showing itself again, dormant inside of Calem"

"Fire, water, and steel... so when they died, their types went into you, Ash, and the Calem that I know" I figured. "But wouldn't that mean that there's two dark-type masters?"

"You guessed right; where X, the other Calem, comes from, type-masters are chosen from birth. So somewhere out there, there exists another dark-type master"

"There's also some other things that don't make sense. I thought type-masters were chosen around our age?"

"Death by the hands of the ritual they performed cause their spirts to not awaken until recently, but Ash, Calem, and I were always chosen" Y said. "X and I can use Hidden Arts beyond just our respective types, which is a taboo, and one day we will pay the price"

"But what does this all have to do with my nightmare?" I questioned

"Much like X and I have tabooed the ways of Hidden Arts, you and Calem have something called forbidden love - a sin amongst us type-masters" Y revealed. A strong gust of wind blew past us, and I could feel my heart drop. "It's against the customs for a steel-type and fairy-type master to fall in love. X intends to use the energy harnessed by that taboo to descend darkness upon the world"

"S-So-"

"There is a problem though"

**Elsewhere**

"It's been five weeks, but nothing has happened yet" X said as the flowing black mist circulated around him, glowing with a bright golden outline

"There's only one reason I can recall that the bonds haven't completely formed yet" Corvinight recalled

"... It's not true love" X muttered, forming a fist. A shockwave of dark energy shot out, trembling the entire mountain that they resided on. Trees broke off from their roots, large rocks went tumbling down, and the Pokemon cowered in fear.

"True love can take time to form, it seems we will just have to wait longer" Corvinight suggested

**.**

"So I can't fall in love with Calem..." I put everything together

"For the sake of the world, you can't" Y nodded pitifully. "I can't help but wonder why you chose Calem in the first place though"

"It was a choice between a boy who liked me, and one who didn't" I said. "In my eyes, I thought I made the right choice"

"Love is blind" Y stated. "Do you understand what that means? You could be so in love with someone, and still not know the first thing about them. Perhaps it was your low self-esteem, but you quickly jumped to the conclusion that Ash didn't care for you as much as Calem"

"That's because he doesn't" I faced down towards the ground in sorrow. "At least not the same way I do for him"

"If you see the world in such simple terms," He said, "then perhaps you are blind. Not everyone expresses love the same way, and it's up to you to figure that out and look for the signs in the person you care for"

"You mean... Ash l-likes me?" my cheeks heated up at the thought

"He... I don't know, that up for you to decide" He jumped down from the tree, holding a new apple in his hand. "I'm sure he likes you romantically, but it's for you to find out just how much"

"Oh, uh... right" I said

"I'm taking this apple by the way" He held it up to the sky as he walked away

"Jeez, who knew he could be so bipolar" I muttered as he disappeared from my sight


	23. Chapter Twenty Three: Corruption

**Narrator** **/** **November** **17th**

**Today,** **the** **weather** **was** **awfully** **nice.** Ash exited his home alone, ready to go and take on his second gym in Kalos, accompanied by no one other than Pikachu. As soon as he stepped down from the final step on his porch, he knew that he had no idea where he was going, but he decided that he would figure it out along the way. Classic Ash, Serena's voice giggled in his head, and he shook it to clear the sound.

Despite that, he heard that voice call out to him a couple of moments later, but this time, it was real. "Hey Ash!"

He turned around, a bored expression plastered on his face. "Oh, hey Serena"

She jogged over and offered him a genuine smile. "Where are you off to?"

Ash hesitated on telling her where at first. "I was heading to my second gym battle"

"Well, I was hoping we could talk actually" Serena said, pressing her index fingers against each other nervously. Ash thought it was cute, but he brushed that thought off too.

"I don't think there's anything to talk about" Ash said, turning to continue on his way.

Serena decided to catch up and walk next to him. "If you want, I could take you to Cyllage City, and maybe along the way I could um... tell you something"

Ash abruptly stopped in place, and Serena did too. "I think you should go back Serena; Calem wouldn't like this"

"Just forget Calem for a moment" Serena quickly dismissed. "I really need to talk to you"

"That would be a bad idea - forgetting Calem. He's your boyfriend after all, if there's something you want to talk about so badly, you should talk it out with him"

"But..." Serena tried to protest, but no words came from her mouth

"Go home Serena," Ash continued on his way, "call Calem or something. You haven't bothered talking to me outside of school for weeks, so I'm sure whatever you need to talk about can be sorted out with him"

Serena stood there, watching Ash slowly walk away, until she found words in her mouth - just not the ones she wanted. "W-Well, it wasn't like you were making an effort either"

Ash stopped again, but didn't turn to face her. "Huh?"

"Friendship is a two-way street, Ash. Sure I may have been a little bit distant, but you could have at least told me how you felt about it" Serena said. "It's not just mine, but both of our fault's that we aren't friends anymore"

"That's right..." Ash agreed. "We aren't friends anymore"

"But that's not the way I want it to be!" Serena said, raising her voice

"Maybe you should have thought about your choices a little bit more than" Ash replied. "Because maybe then, I wouldn't have lost you"

"You haven't lost me!" tears welled up in Serena's eyes. "Why are you being so stubborn? I'm trying to tell you how I feel!"

"It's too late Serena" Ash raised his voice too. "I wanted to tell you too, but it's too late... for both of us"

This time, Ash walked away, and Serena didn't stop him. Instead, she just fell to her knees and cried into her hands, wondering how she could have let such a mistake happen. To her, it seemed like the end of the story between her and Ash, but luckily for her...

help was coming.

"I'm sorry I could only afford just an hour" Aria apologized

"It's fine" Jason blew out the candle on his cupcake. "It's not like I have any time to be doing this either. So much has happened in the last couple of months, it makes me wonder just where everything is going"

Aria frowned. "It's too bad Anna isn't here; she would have known what to do"

"Yeah" Jason agreed sadly. "But I have no idea where she is"

Fifteen minutes later, the two said their goodbyes and walked off in separate directions. Somewhere in the middle of Lumiose City, Jason could have sworn he saw a familiar face walking on the opposite street.

He took his chance, at risk of getting embarrassed. "Kiawe!"

Luckily for him, it ended up being the person who he thought it was. Kiawe turned around, and so did his four companions. Jason crossed the street, and the two old friends examined just how much the other grew.

"Well if it isn't you" Kiawe said as the two shook hands. "And you said Kalos was just the place you didn't want to be at"

"Things change" Jason shrugged. "Why are you here in Kalos? I thought Alola was the perfect place for you. I mean, you're even wearing a shirt"

"We're here for three months; Professor Kukui thought it would be a good idea for us to get out of Alola" Kiawe explained

Jason introduced himself to Kiawe's friends, and they did the same. The two explained how they knew each other - they had been friends when they were younger, growing up in Alola. But one day, he had to leave in search of something. What that thing was, was never specified.

"So where are you guys staying at anyways?" Jason questioned

"Professor Sycamore got us a nice place to stay at" Lillie answered. "It's quite big actually"

"And how about you?" Kiawe asked. "Ever find what you were looking for?"

"Unfortunately not" Jason shook his head. "Of course I haven't given up, but right now I'm more occupied with... other problems"

"I see" Kiawe nodded. "So trouble hasn't stopped following you"

"I doubt it ever will; that's just the way things are" Jason replied. "I should get going though; I'll ask Professor Sycamore where you guys are staying, and I can drop by later"

"Sounds good" Kiawe agreed

The five Alolans continued to walk down the street and towards their destination - the Lumiose City Pokemon Museum; they were in search of Pokemon they had never seen before, and to learn about what "Alolan-form Pokemon" were suppose to look like originally.

Along the way, Kiawe spotted a pretty girl having a battle against another trainer. He didn't know what it was, but something stood out to him. She had long green hair, forest-green eyes, and wore a white robe that made her look like a princess. Her Pokemon was a Zeraora - a Pokemon that was suppose to come from Alola - and she was battling against a Dragonite. **(A/N:** **Zeraora** **is** **not** **a** **mythical** **or** **legendary** **Pokemon** **in** **this)**

"Check it out" Kiawe stopped a pointed. "She has a Pokemon from Alola"

"That's right" Lana said. "I wonder if she's from Alola too"

Zeraora delivered the finishing blow to Dragonite, sending him crashing into the ground in front of its trainer. The disappointed trainer returned their Dragonite and thanked their opponent for a good challenge before sulking off.

"I've got it!" Kiawe announced. "I'm going to challenge her to a battle"

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Mallow asked. "She seems pretty strong"

"Kiawe will be fine; he's a powerful trainer after all" Lillie reminded

Confidently, Kiawe walked over and stepped onto the battlefield, where the girl's previous opponent stood. "If you don't mind, I'd like to have a Pokemon battle with you"

"That's fine by me" She agreed - even her voice was beautiful.

Mallow, Lillie, Sophocles, and Lana sat down in the stands of the battlefield, while Kiawe called out his Turtonator.

"I take it you're from Alola then" the girl guessed correctly

"Yup" Kiawe confirmed. "That's why I wanted to have a battle with you"

"Usually people who come from Alola don't travel out of it" she said. "What bring you to Kalos?"

"We're just here to explore. How about you?"

"To tell the truth, I was in search of something that would have greatly benefited my friends, but I haven't seen them in a really long time. I just returned, and now I'm looking for them" she explained. "My name's Anna by the way, it's nice to meet you"

"Well I'm Kiawe" Kiawe pointed a thumb at himself. "You can have the first move"

"Ok" Anna said. "Zeraora, let's let loose this battle, alright?"

Zeraora nodded, and the ground began to shake heavily. Pebbles levitated off the ground, and shockwaves of electricity began to shoot out of Zeraora as an aura of thunder surrounded it.

"Use Thunder Roar!" Anna began

"Ever heard of that move before?" Lana asked

"I don't think so" Lillie said

"Turtonator, dodge and attack with Rapid Spin!" Kiawe instructed

Turtonator entered his shell and began to spin rapidly, before shooting forward and zigzagging around the battlefield like a ball in a pinball machine to avoid the attack. Zeraora jumped up and fired a column of electricity from its mouth that hit Turtonator. Upon contact, the attack exploded and Turtonator was sent flying back, forced out of its shell.

"Powerful..." Kiawe said under his breath

"Use Electric Stinger!" Anna continued

Six large bolts of electricity - three from the left; three from the right - shot out from Zeraora's back, curving to look like spider legs. The bolts traveled to quick for Kiawe to react, and they shocked Turtonator hard.

"Use Dragon Pulse!" Kiawe retaliated

Turtonator shook off the damage and fired a quick-moving Dragon Pulse that collided with Zeraora, setting off a small explosion and covering the Pokemon in smoke. Kiawe thought he was a safe for a couple of moments, until Zeraora jumped out of the smoke with a large ball of electricity above one hand.

"Electric Haze!" Anna commanded

Zeraora tossed the large ball of energy forward, and it exploded against the ground in front of Turtonator, setting off an explosion that covered the entire vicinity, including the stands, in smoke. When it cleared, everyone except Anna was coughing, and Turtonator was barely standing still.

"Turtonator can still battle after all that? That's amazing" Anna said

"Uh, yeah, right" Kiawe nervously chuckled before going back into serious-mode. "Use Flamethrower!"

"Stop that with Electric Jigsaw" Anna defended

Turtonator built up heat and then fired a powerful Flamethrower; Zeraora raised one hand, and a sharp disc made of electric formed. The disc was thrown, and it cut straight through Flamethrower; Turtonator barely managed to dodge the disc by ducking under it.

"You're really strong, but I get the idea that you're still holding back on me" Kiawe said

"Very well" Anna nodded. "We'll go all out"

"That's more like it"

Zeraora backed up a couple of steps, and Anna held out her hands in front of her, palms facing the ground. Electricity began to spark from the battlefield and travel up Zeraora, and thunderclouds rolled up in the sky. "Zeraora... God Sleeper"

A yellow circle of energy appeared underneath Turtonator, and in seconds, a massive cylindrical column of thunder shot up from the ground and into the clouds, causing the sky to rumble. When the attack finished, Turtonator had fainted.

"That was a good battle, thanks for letting us let it out" Anna said

"Yeah... no problem" Kiawe returned Turtonator, still shocked at what he had just seen

**10pm**

For some odd reason, it was already snowing in Kalos, despite it being the middle of November. Jason walked the streets of Lumiose City - which were completely empty at this time due to how dark it was - wearing a white shirt, grey pants and a yellow scarf. He had been informed through Shauna that Serena had been crying all day, so he decided that he might as well go and pay her visit to see if he could do anything.

He had noticed that ever since Serena had started dating Calem, that two had been becoming much more distant, which was strange because they had been as close as friends could get before. Some even said they acted like they were already dating; Calem was never too fond of those statements.

It reminded him of his past a little bit. He had never gotten to tell the girl he loved the way he felt, and he never got the chance to, because one day she just disappeared. He almost resented Ash for still having Serena around and not telling her how he felt. Jason regretted not having said something to help out Ash, but just like for him, it was too late now.

The silhouette of a figure appeared just up the street Jason was walking, and he took it as nothing more than another passerby. Yet, when the two got closer to each other, he stopped when he saw the familiar shade of green eyes and hair.

It was like a clock began to tick backwards in his head as the girl stopped as well, a smile on her face. "Hey"


	24. Chapter Twenty Four: Bells

**Serena** **/** **November** **17th** **/** **10:30**

**It** **was** **too** **late.** I had been blind, just like Y said, after all - too blind to see that Ash actually did care about me the same way I did for him. Now, I had ruined things between us, and I don't think I was ever going to get my chance to tell him how I felt. And then there was also the whole taboo situation with Calem... The whole thing made my head hurt.

I was sat on my back porch, just a couple of feet behind where I had stood talking to Y the other day. Going over his conversation, it made me think about just how much I had screwed things up. Now, I was going to make things worse with Calem too, because apparently I wasn't suppose to love him.

There was a shadow behind the tree in front of me - the one Y had sat on - and I quickly stood up in fear. I tried to concentrate on what it was, until I made out the shape of staffs and sighed with relief.

"You scared me" I said, and on cue, the old bells began to ring - if my mom decided to come out, I would have a lot of explaining to do

"I can tell that things didn't go the way you planned" Y said, stepping out of the darkness and into the light casted by the lamp next to me

I ignored him and muttered, "You really need to get rid of those bells"

"If only it were that simple" Y lowered down both his hood and bandanna. It was like a brick hit me when I saw his face, because just like when I had found out who X was, the first thought that came to mind was: but it's impossible. "I'm a little bit flattered you put so much trust into me without knowing who I was, so telling you would make no difference"

"B-But how?" somehow, words came out of my mouth. "It just doesn't add up"

"Because I crafted it that way" Jason said. "In order to escape the bells, I used an ancient magic spell that split me into two different entities. This me - the one you're talking to - carries the type-master title, and constantly travels to run from the bells. The me that you know is the me trying to live out a normal life"

"Escape... the bells?"

"Remember how I told you about the type-masters sealing away Abbadon? Well, the last thing that Abbadon did was curse me of all people" Jason explained. "As long as I live, I'll be haunted by the bells. If I stay in one place for too long, they'll devour me"

"I-I guess that does explain a lot" I sat back down. "So what about your Pokemon?"

"The Pokeballs in my staffs are my original Pokemon, and occasionally I will meet up with my other half and swap out which staffs I hold" Jason answered. "As I am, X is too powerful for me to handle him, so I have limited time until I need to remerge. But enough about me; I came here to talk to you"

"I don't have anything to say" I sighed

"Tell me what happened" He requested

I looked up, and for some I reason, I explained for him word-for-word what had happened earlier with Ash. It was either his eyes, which naturally told you to trust him, or his tone that said I had nothing to worry about. By the time I was done explaining, I was already crying again.

"So I was right" Jason said. "He really does care about you in the same way that you do"

"Now it's too late" I wiped tears from my eyes, but they kept coming

"I was once in the same situation as you" He revealed. "However, you're more fortunate than I am, and I'm sure that things aren't too late for you"

"Huh?" I looked up and saw him frowning up at the sky through my blurry sight

"It happened while we were growing up. The previous water-type master trained me and Calem, and also the girl I told you about before - Anna; she's the electric-type master. We were both born on the exact same day - nineteen years today. Growing up, I always saw her as a big sister - the way that she was so much more mature than Calem and I, and how she would always stop us from fighting.

Eventually, those feelings grew into more, and I was sure I loved her. Just like you and Ash, I had no idea if she saw me the same way, so I never told her. Then, one day, she disappeared, and not telling her became the biggest regret of my life. The point is, Serena, that it's not too late for you to tell how Ash you feel. You just have to be persistent and wait for the right moment"

I soaked in what he said, but was still unsure. "Ash seemed really confident on the way he felt"

"If you break things with Calem, I'm sure he will listen you"

"That's the problem though..." I said. "I know I'm not suppose to fall in love with Calem, but I don't want to make him hurt him like I did with Ash; it would be too much for me to take"

"I see" He walked closer, standing only five feet in front of me

In desperation to change the topic, I said asked, "Tell me more about Anna"

"Well, the last time I saw her was five years ago today actually. She's beautiful - you would mistake her for a princess at first glance. In a way, she's kind of like you, but it takes way more to put her down. When we first learned about Kalos, she wanted to become the Kalos Queen as well. In fact, we knew Aria when we were younger"

"You did?" I questioned, surprised

He nodded. "We met her during a two year stay in Kalos when we were around ten, and those two were the best of friends. You see, Anna was the one who made the bandanna I use to hide my face, and she was the one who discovered the staffs I use to hold my Pokeballs. And... you're trying to distract me, good try"

"Look, I don't want to talk" I insisted

"Then listen" Jason said. "The moral of my story is that if you don't persist and tell Ash how you really feel, you'll regret for as long as you live, knowing that you made the wrong choice. Plus, it's Ash, he can't stay mad the way he might seem to you now. You of all people should know that"

I lifted my head, and I finally stopped sniffling. "You're right"

"Come" He held out his hand for me to take. "There's something I need to show you; the bells are catching up"

**Thirty** **Minutes** **Earlier**

"Hey"

Jason looked like he had seen a ghost - if those scared him - but Anna was smiling warmly. The silence went on for a bit too long, so Anna stepped closer and pulled him in for a hug, which was quickly returned.

"Jeez, you're taller than me now" Anna said

"Where have you been?" Jason was finally able to speak

"I'm sorry I left out of nowhere, but I only had one opportunity" Anna explained. "I know how much you wanted to cure Calem, and I did too, so I went with a man who claimed to be the fighting-type master. We were both after the same thing: to cure something that seemed impossible"

"And did you do it?" Jason asked

"No" Anna sighed. "Sorry I missed out on five years for nothing. Trust me, I really did miss you... probably more than you know"

The two realized that they were still hugging, so they awkwardly broke apart, and Anna noticed that Jason was wearing something she recognized.

"Hey, you're wearing the scarf I made you that one Christmas" She snatched it off of him. "Nice to know you kept this, but what about the staffs?"

"Without you around, Calem and I parted ways. Abbadon apparently had a spell over me, and wherever I go, I would be haunted by bells. If I were to stay in one place for too long, they would catch up and devour me, so I used one of master's spells to stay hidden"

"You mean... there's two of you?" Anna guessed

"Yeah" Jason nodded. "Calem's been up to no good lately. He's found a way to harness the Bonds of Amour, and I'll have to merge back into one if I stand a chance at him"

"The Bonds of Amour were formed?"

"Friends of mine" Jason said. "The fairy-type master and the steel-type master - the Calem of this world"

"The other Calem..." Anna said under her breath. "I never thought we would meet him, much less have him be so important"

"It doesn't stop there" Jason explained everything about Ash, Serena, and Calem, and there were definitely some big coincidences

"Where is Calem anyway?" Anna inquired. "You won't need to merge into one if we work together to stop him"

"I don't know where he is, but if he acquires more power from the bonds, it'll take a lot more than just us to stop him" Jason replied. "Let's go, there's someone I want you to meet"

**.**

"Where could we be going at this time of day?" Anna pointed out

"We're going to pull the problem from its roots" Jason explained, as a water fountain appeared in the distance, surrounded by a beautiful park

There was a bright golden glow, and suddenly Anna felt a different hand holding hers - Jason had changed appearances. He wore metallic armor, a grayish robe over it, and a bandanna that hid his face, along with five staffs on his back.

"Did you..."

"I merged" Jason stated simply. His voice was deeper now, and it sounded like his head was hurting - which was probably true

The two came across Serena, who looked more confused than ever. She was looking around desperately until she spotted Jason and Anna - who she didn't know yet.

"I thought you brought me here just to abandon me" Serena visibly relaxed

"Who's this?" Anna asked, letting go of Jason's hand

"Our fairy-type master" Jason revealed. "Serena, this is Anna. It's a strange coincidence, but she's returned"

"Nice to meet you, I've already heard a lot" Serena said

"Same here" Anna offered a smile

"Serena, would you know how to find Calem?"

"Which one?"

"Our Calem"

Serena tapped her finger against her chin while thinking. "No, I don't know how to find X"

"If we can't stop him, then the Bonds of Amour need to be broken" Jason said

"I know" Serena sighed. "Can't it wait until morning though? I'm exhausted, and I'm sure Ash will be too"

Jason walked over to the fountain and reached his hand into the water, pressing some kind of button. Around Serena and Anna, black mist with a golden outline appeared, flowing around them chaotically.

"This park, and the fountain specifically, were made in the events that the Bonds of Amour would be formed" Jason explained

"So I made these" Serena said, examining the mist

"You're helping make them, but they haven't completely formed yet," Jason said, "because you haven't completely fallen in love"

**.**

Jason and Anna watched as Serena, who insisted that she walk back home alone, left and disappeared into the dark night. The two walked back in the direction they had come from, until they realized that they weren't heading anywhere in particular.

"So..." Anna said. "I don't know how to put this, but I don't really have anywhere to go"

"Don't be ridiculous" Jason removed one of the staffs of his back. "You can stay with me. After all, we have a lot to catch up on"

Snow was still falling down as the two walked; it piled up on the ground, making it look like it was somewhere around Christmas time.

"Get any stronger the past few years?" Anna asked at random

"Probably enough to beat you" Jason answered

"Is that a challenge?" Anna raised an eyebrow. "I haven't been slacking off either"

"We'll just have to see when this whole thing is over" Jason said

Anna looked up to the sky with wonder. "I wonder if Serena will be alright"

"She'll be just fine"


	25. Chapter Twenty Five: Love Headache

**Jason** **/** **November** **18th**

**Today** **was** **going** **to** **be** **a** **big** **day**; I could feel it. I sat in the living room of my apartment, watching to see if there was any important breaking news. Now that I had regained full consciousness, I had a full picture of the story, and I gained a lot of memories as well.

I glanced over at the wall on my right, where ten staffs rested, each with different Pokemon - Charizard, Blaziken, Cinderace, Infernape, Moltres, Haxorus, Typhlosion, Incineroar, Rapidash, and Coalossal.

The door to my room opened up, and for a second, I had completely forgotten about the events of last night. Today, Serena was suppose to fix things between Ash and Calem, before X could harness enough energy from the bonds.

"Did I scare you? It looks like you saw a Gengar" Anna said. "I mean, if those were able to scare you"

"I just forgot, that's all" I mumbled

"You should see your hair; it's all over the place" She pointed at it, holding back a laugh

"It's not like yours is any better" I stood up and walked over, picking up the staff that contained Coalossal - I had a feeling I would be needing him today

"Well someone's in a bad mood today" Anna raised an eyebrow as she began to comb her hair in the mirror

"Today, Serena will hopefully fix things enough to stop X" I replied

She finished combing her hair and walked over, picking up Charizard's staff. "You should have more faith in her. She'll do the right thing; I know it"

**Serena** **/** **Afterschool**

"So what's up?" I asked

"Well, to be completely honest, I noticed that you've been acting a bit different lately" Calem said

We were sat in our usual coffee shop, only this time on a school day.

"I've just had a lot of things on my mind between school and performing" I lied - I had a lot on my mind, but not about those

"Serena... do you know who X and Y are?" Calem asked out of the blue. "I mean, like, their real identities"

"W-What? Why would you think that?" I replied

"You don't have to keep things from me, Serena. I was out walking late last night, and I saw you talking to Y and another girl by this fountain. It made me realize that you have a lot of run-ins with both X and Y, so I thought you might know who they are" Calem explained

"I guess I have to be honest" I sighed. "I do know they are - both of them have showed me"

"That's all I wanted to hear you say" Calem took a sip from his coffee. "I won't ask you to tell me who they are, because that's between you guys, but what I don't understand is why they care so much about the two of us, like as a couple"

I knew that this moment had the power to either break or make me. If I was going to break things off with Calem, then the best time would be now. But for some reason, I just couldn't bring myself to do it.

"I'm not sure myself" I lied again, and Calem nodded understandingly

Later that day, when we were walking around Lumiose City, we bumped into Gary and Shauna, who both looked frightened that we had found them, as if we had caught them doing something.

"Hey guys" Calem said. "Something wrong?"

"Oh uh, nope. Everything's fine" Gary assured. "We were just out in the city doing what friends do"

"Yeah, nothing unordinary" Shauna added

"There's nothing wrong with you two going out on a date" I giggled at their awkwardness

Shauna opened her mouth to speak, but there was a large explosion coming from behind us. We turned, and there was a massive, mixed spiral of fire electricity shooting up into the sky.

"I wonder what's going on over there" Gary said

I sighed. "I have a good idea"

**.**

We walked in the direction of the spiral, which ended up not being too far, and we came across a battlefield where my guess was proven correctly. Y, who I now knew was Jason, was battling against Anna, who was using a Pokemon I hadn't seen before.

Her Pokemon fired a ball of electricity, and Charizard, who was midair, deflected the attack with Dragon Claw. Charizard landed on the ground hard enough to shake it, and flames exploded out of the ground that left only its silhouette and one bright-red glowing eye visible.

Anna looked visibly stressed, as if she had clearly underestimated Jason.

"Well if it isn't Y" Calem said

"Looks like he's having a bit of difficult" Shauna pointed out as a strong breeze cleared the flames, making Charizard completely visible again

"That's because he's battling Anna, the electric-type master" I informed

"So that's the electric-type master" Calem said under his breath

"She's really pretty, and she looks like a powerful opponent" Shauna observed 

"Zeraora, use Electric Stinger" Anna said

"Dodge it" Y commanded

Charizard took flight, but was unable to dodge the sharp, rapid-moving bolts of electricity that shot out of Zeraora's back, electrocuting him intensely. Zeraora dashed forward and jumped up into the air, hitting Charizard with its fist, and sending him crashing back down onto the ground. Even then, it wasn't done as Zeraora shot a column of electricity from its mouth as it landed on the ground, hitting Charizard and exploding.

"That's one powerful Pokemon, even for a type-master" Calem said

It did strike me as strange that she was able to keep up, but then I remembered that they had been trained by the same person - the pervious water-type master before Ash. Ash, I remembered. Today was suppose to be the day I told him how I felt, wether he would let me or not.

The dust from all the attacks cleared, and Charizard had scratches all over his body as he got up. Zeraora was panting, looking equally tired and damaged.

"Use Arachne's Web!" Anna commanded

Zeraora held out its hands in front of it, and a net made of electricity shot out rapidly, wrapping around Charizard and keeping him in like a pile of freshly-caught fish. Before Charizard could free himself, Zeraora charged forward and pummeled him with a fury of punches before landing one uppercut that sent him up into the air.

"It seems that no matter how hard Charizard struggles, the net won't come off" I said

"I never imagined there was a trainer out there who could challenge Y so much, besides X of course" Shauna added

"It's just like the old days" Anna said. "Charizard could never free himself from my net, so this is where our battle usually ended"

"Not today" Y held up the wing-tipped staff that held Charizard's Pokeball

There was that blinding bright glow again, and when I felt it dissipate, Charizard had transformed into the same form it had taken to battle Deoxys. It looked identical to Mega Charizard Y, but had the golden chains flowing out the sides of its mouth, and a light aura of flames around it.

Seeing that Charizard had transformed, Zeraora began to power-up as well, a large aura of electricity surrounding it. Thunderclouds rolled in up above, and the ground shook with tremendous force. The battle continued, but this time, Zeraora was clearly winning as it knocked Mega Charizard around with relative ease.

"Y... is losing" Shauna said

"I never thought I would see the day" Gary agreed

"It's like they say," Calem said, "there's always a stronger one out there"

Charizard landed back on its original position the battlefield, panting with the last bit of its energy. Zeraora looked only slightly injured, while Charizard was ready to faint in the next few attacks.

"Zeraora, let's finish this with Ultra Thunder Roar" Chloe said

Zeraora nodded, and fired a massive column of thunder from its mouth again; Charizard was unable to dodge in its current state, and instead let itself get swallowed up by the attack and the following explosion.

"She beat Y, and her Pokemon still looks like it's in good condition" Gary pointed out

"So much for wanting to surpass Y" Calem muttered. "Now I've got to catch up to her too" 

"That was a good try, but you're still number two" Anna grinned triumphantly

"Except you fell into my trap" Y said. "I was waiting for you to do that"

"Huh?" We all said

"What do you mean?"

"Charizard... Fire-Electric Mode!"

From inside the smoke, Charizard roared loud enough for us to have to block our eyes to prevent the pain. The smoke clearly cleared out as intense winds blew out and made Mega Charizard, who standing in a crater, visible. Electricity circulated him in massive amounts, and the aura of heat around him looked more intense.

"Holy Arceus... what did you do?" Anna asked

"Fire and electricity has always been a good combination, so Charizard simply absorbed the attack" Y explained. "Charizard, Electric Dragon Fist"

In the blink of an eye - I could have sworn it was light-speed - Charizard lunged across the battlefield and nailed Zeraora with a hard gut punch, its fist ignited with golden flames, and electricity around it. Zeraora went flying back, crashing into the wall behind Anna, but still able to battle.

"Are you alright Zeraora?" Anna inquired as her Pokemon stumbled back onto the battlefield; she received an affirmative nod. "Alright then, we'll have to finish this soon then"

"What an interesting turn of events" Gary said

"You can never really tell what'll happen in these kinds of battles" Calem responded

"Zeraora, use God Sleeper" Anna commanded

"God Sleeper... that move's never been stopped before, and it usually one-shots its opponent" Calem said

"Charizard, use Flaming-Thunder Drill Rush!" Y quickly instructed

Mega Charizard powered up again, a massive aura of fire and electricity covering over it. A yellow circle of light appeared underneath Charizard, and just before the massive column of electricity could hit it, it charged forward, the tip of its aura contorting to the shape of a drill. Charizard crashed into Zeraora head first, and there was a massive gust of wind that caused us to stumble back as Zeraora went crashing into the wall again.

"Well, looks like I lost" Anna laughed it off as she returned Zeraora, thanking him afterwards

"It was a close match, and I wasn't sure that Fire-Electric Mode would work" Jason returned Charizard into the staff, and placed it back onto his back

The two of them spotted that we had watched the battle, and Jason's eyes signaled a message to me. I nodded in response, and I suggested to my friends that we should go.

**.**

It was nighttime now, and I was sitting on my front porch, looking at Ash's house for no particular reason. I was going over how I was going to confess my feelings, but they all sounded nothing like I wanted them too. There were footsteps approaching from the left, and I expected to be either Y or X, but was surprised to find Calem with a neutral look on his face.

"Oh, hey Calem" I said

"Hey Serena" He responded. "We have to talk"

"Um, yeah, sure" I patted the chair next to me. It was just like when he had come to ask me out all over again

He sat down, and faced me with a glum look. "You know, you should have been honest with me when I asked what was bothering you"

"Huh?"

"Ever since we started dating... I didn't want to believe it, but I couldn't help but notice that you were still attached to Ash somehow" Calem said. "You guys stayed good friends at first, but then you guys started to become distant from each other, and I saw how it affected you"

"Well, we were really good friends, so naturally-"

Calem shook his head. "You like him, not me, Serena. The fact that your hurting over it this much, and you didn't bother telling me... it just shows me that you made the wrong choice. You must have been afraid that Ash didn't return your feelings"

I was too surprised to say anything, because he had hit the nail on the head. "I... yeah, I'm sorry"

"I like you a lot Serena, but someone once told me that I just wasn't the guy for you" Calem said - I was sure it had been Jason/Y - "You should tell Ash how you feel. I'm sure he likes you too, I could tell"

Needless to say, as Calem walked away, I was left a little bit dumbstruck at his pinpoint accuracy, and that after all of that, he had been the one to break things off with me. I was a little bit sad of course, but I knew what I had to do now. Operation: Confess Crush was officially a go.


	26. Chapter Twenty Six: A Kiss

**Serena** **/** **November** **22nd**

**I** **still** **couldn't** **do** **it.** It had been a few days since Calem broke up with me, but I had still been unable to confess to Ash how I really felt about him. It had either been the pure nervousness, or that I had no idea how to put it into words.

It was a Friday after school when Calem approached me again - usually I walked home with Ash and Gary, but that stopped not long after I had begun dating Calem. "You still haven't talked to Ash?"

I shook my head. "I just don't know how to do it"

"Well, you could choose to be either straight forward with it, or you could do something a bit more special" Calem said. "Whatever you choose to do, I know that it'll go well"

You may have been wondering how school went between me and Ash after our argument on Sunday. Well, there wasn't much to say besides the fact that Ash would avoid talking to me, unless it was lunch or break time where we would hang out with our group of friends. Even then, we didn't say anything to each other.

As for our friends, they thought Calem and I were still dating, but understood why Ash and I weren't talking anymore.

**.**

When I finally decided that I would confront Ash, it was around six in the afternoon, about three hours after school had finished. I walked across the street and knocked on the door, to which Gary answered.

"Oh, Serena. I didn't expect you" Gary said

"Is Ash here?" I asked

"So that's why you're here" Gary nodded. "The rest of us were wondering when you were finally going to tell Ash"

"What do you mean?"

"None of us really believed that you were still dating Calem; it was pretty obvious" Gary explained. "Ash should be up in his room, he doesn't really come out unless he's training or eating"

I nodded and walked inside; I had never really been in Ash's house for more than a couple of moments, so this would only be the second time going into his room - that was, if he wanted me to. As I began my ascension up the steps, memories from the past couples of months flowed through my mind. All the drama between X and Y really led up to this moment, and there was no way I would have ever had seen it coming.

Once I reached the top step, Ash's room was the first door in front of it. I took a deep breath and knocked on the door; I had no idea wether it was just my nervousness making time slow down, or if Ash had hesitated in opening the door, but it didn't open until a couple of minutes later.

"Serena?"

"Hey Ash. Can we please talk?" I said

"Yeah, sure" He surprisingly agreed. "I was actually about to go over and talk to you too"

We sat on the side of his bed, facing the wall where he had his desk. Last time I had been in his room, it had been pretty messy, but this time around it was surprisingly clean, as if he had been expecting visitors.

"Calem broke up with me" I began

"He did?" Ash asked, a little bit surprised. "You guys looked fine today"

"Yeah" I confirmed. "He said it was because there was someone I loved more than him; someone that was better for me"

"Oh" Ash said, not realizing I was talking about him

"It's you, Ash" I had to clarify. "It was always you... ever since that day at summer camp. When you first got to Kalos, I was unsure of how I felt, because sure... I had a crush on you back then, and while I hadn't forgotten about you... it had been a long time.

Sure enough though, it didn't take long for me to realize that I really did still like you. I think it was your optimism and your confidence in both you and your friends, but I had underestimated just how much I had fallen for you"

Finally saying it was like the heaviest weight in the world lifted off my chest. Ash looked pretty surprised, and I knew it would take a couple of moments before he soaked it all in. Eventually, he exhaled with relief and smiled.

"I feel the same way Serena, and I should have told you how I felt, but I doubted that someone like you could like me" Ash said. "I had a crush on you in summer camp too, in fact, I remember being pretty depressed for the entire week after you left.

Over all of my journeys, I learned how to care about a lot of people, but it wasn't until I got here to Kalos that I learned that there was someone I could care about more than anyone else. Serena, I'm sorry that I didn't tell you sooner, because you deserved to know. And, I'm also sorry about how I treated you last week... I should have listened"

"Well, what's in the past is in the past" I said, offering a smile

It was true; Jason, despite everything he had gone through, had told me that he believed that there was a happy ending to this story. He had also said that all happy stories have their roadblocks and troubles, which is what makes the ending so satisfying. As the two of leaned in towards each other, I understood just what he meant.

Through all of the drama, Ash and I became a lot closer to each other in the end, much more than we would have been without it. That's why, when our lips touched, everything in the world felt just right, like everything clicked into place. It was Y who had believed in the light at the end of the tunnel, even if I myself didn't see it; it had been through his efforts, even if indirectly, that Ash and I finally settled things.

**November** **23rd**

I had gotten the most sleep I had in a long time, and for once, I woke up feeling energized and ready to tackle on the day, even if it was just a Saturday. News had spread quickly through our friend group, and today, we were suppose to go out and "celebrate it all being over," according to Gary.

Ash and I met in the middle of our houses and smiled as we held each other's hands. Gary had a satisfied smile on his face as he walked over to us, because he too had helped this happen. In fact, this had been everyone's win, including Calem's.

"Well, It finally happened" Tierno said as he, Trevor, Shauna, and Miette appeared down the trail

"And to think I was starting to get impatient" Miette winked at me, and I simply sighed and shook my head

When I thought about it, it had been Miette of all people who helped me realize my feelings for Ash. Y helped me understand just how much I did, and Calem was the one who had pushed me to pursue them.

Clemont - he had become part of our friend group throughout all of this, but I guess I had never found the time to tell you guys - Bonnie, and Calem appeared next. I had wanted Jason to come too, because he had been a big help as well, but I knew that he had his own romantic issues going on with Anna in the meantime.

"Congrats you guys!" Bonnie said as he ran over to us

"Thanks Bonnie" Ash replied

"Well there's no point in celebrating if we're just going to stand around" Calem pointed out. "Come on, nothing like good old snow in late November"

This time, the walk to Lumiose City felt much shorter between all of the fun we had been having on the way there. We were on our way to Clemont's gym, where his dad, the previous owner of the gym, had something set up for us.

"Yuck, what's this" Bonnie said as she picked a piece of black snow off of her tongue - she had been trying to catch snow on it.

"Black snow... that's odd" I replied

"I don't see anything other pieces of it, so it may just be a weather defect" Clemont guessed

Currently, we were out in a large open field, taking a shortcut to Lumiose City. We stopped and looked around for any other pieces of black snow, but could find none; we dismissed it as nothing more than a weather defect, just like Clemont had said.

Two minutes later, there was a large explosion, and off to the right, up top a small hillside that overlooked the valley we were in, there was a spiral of dark energy. The blue sky suddenly became polluted with darkness, and a black mist with a golden outline around it flowed all around us.

"You should give yourselves a round of applause" X said, walking out of the spiral of energy. "Sure, you didn't completely form the bonds, but I've gathered just enough energy for my goal"

By now, it looked like it was the middle of the night, and it was hard to see anywhere in the distance. X's Corvinight laughed, and dark-type Pokemon began to conjure up all around us. We all reached for one of our Pokeball's and released them.

"What's going on?" Trevor asked

"It's a long story" Calem said. "This isn't any good though"

The battle commenced a few seconds later, our Pokemon against the seemingly infinite horde of dark-types. The others had more than one Pokemon, and they were getting taken down quickly, while Pikachu and Fennekin were working together to take out the weaker Pokemon.

"You shouldn't fight back" X said. "Instead, rejoice and witness the birth of a new world"

Ten minutes later, and we were all down to our last Pokemon. Pikachu and Fennekin were on their last bit of stamina, but the horde of dark-types didn't seem to be getting any smaller. A Weavile suddenly jumped at Fennekin, but a jolt of electricity hit in the side, causing it to crash into a nearby tree.

Through the snow and dark night, I was barely able to make out two figures, and I could tell who they were based off the outline of staffs. Charizard's roar came not longer after, and the move God Sleeper finally managed to permanently wipe out the horde of incoming Pokemon.

A little bit of the light came back into the sky, and I could see both Y and Anna with their Pokemon - Charizard and Zeraora. I had completely forgotten about the bonds, but I thought that this day might have come eventually.

"It's no use" X assured

Two cocoons of darkness appeared in the air, and bursting out of it came the legendary Pokemon Yveltal and Necrozma. X's plan suddenly made sense in my mind, and he planned to use both of those Pokemon to eradicate everything... and I knew that they had the potential too.

Charizard Mega Evolved and activated Fire-Lightning mode, charging at Yveltal, but was quickly shot down by a blast of energy that put out of commission in one shot. There wasn't much to say about what happened after - Necrozma attacked us, and it was taking all our Pokemon to keep it at bay, while Yveltal was already flying off to begin its rampage.

X was holding up a golden staff that shone brightly in the night; dark beams of energy shot out of it in massive amounts, flying away to being destroying cities, and possible other regions if they could go that far.

"Is there no way to stop this?" Calem asked as his Bisharp used Iron Scales to defend from an attack

"I'm afraid not" Y said, his Moltres firing a Flamethrower at Necrozma, which did nothing but bounce off. "He's already gathered enough energy from the Bonds of Amour to end this world and start a new one. Only God himself can save us now"

"God himself..." Anna repeated as Zeraora sent Necrozma crashing into a tree

"You mean Arceus?" Tierno asked. "But does he even exist?"

"Serena" Y said. "We have five type-masters; it might be possible to recreate the ritual performed all those years ago"

One by one, our Pokemon went down to the hands of Necrozma, and when it was done with its rampage, it looked ready to move onto us next.

Y carefully placed his five staffs in a circle around him. "Place your hands on a staff, there's only one way to find out if it works or not"

Anna went first, and the staff circulated with electricity at her touch. Calem went next, and the staff lit up with a silver glow. Ash and I walked over, placing one of ours hands on the staffs next to each other. They lit up with blue and pink light respectively, but there was also a part of those lights that were connecting. Y finished it by putting his hand on Charizard's staff, causing it to burn up with flames. His and Anna's elements began to mix like Ash and I's were.

The ground began to shake violently, as if it was threatening to suck us up and send us to the Underworld. X lowered down his staff and eyed us with interest, while Necrozma began to back up with some kind of fear. There was a cracking sound, and I noticed that Y's staffs were beginning to break from all of the energy that they were holding.

Necrozma finally snapped out of his trance and fired a massive Dark Pulse. My life flashed before my eyes as it got closer and closer, until there was nothingness. All I could see was black, until my vision exploded back into reality. The stars in the sky were glowing brighter, connecting, and I could see all of the famous constellations. Light began to overtake the darkness, and there was some kind of heavenly chanting.

Looking around, my eyes widened to see a massive Pokemon standing over us. It stood maybe a thousand times our size, one of it's feet dwarfing us to unimaginable heights. All of those famous pictures of Arceus had been true, because he looked like just like what they had imagined.

I noticed my hand wasn't on anything anymore, and looking down at the snowy ground, Y's staffs had shattered to pieces, with nothing but the Pokeballs remaining. Looking back up, X's face was still beneath his hood, but I could tell that he was scared. Necrozma was too, as it instantly bowed down.

"I would take a picture if I could move..." Trevor said

"It's Arceus... the God of all Pokemon" Clemont readjusted his glasses

"It amazes me that humans could become so foolish" Arceus spoke - his voice sounded like it echoed across the entire world, which was probably true considering his size - "I never thought that when creating the elemental spirits, that they would posses such control as to take something as small as high school drama... to this"

Unsurprisingly, Arceus was right. Just because of our titles as type-masters, high school relationship drama had transformed into the literal end of the world, with the God of Pokemon being summoned.

"Judgement day has arrived" Arceus continued. "I will restart this world anew, but not in the twisted ways of Abbadon. Everything leading up until now is meaningless, because none of you will remember this"

Ash and I shared a sad glance, and we held each others hands.

"Hold on" Y said

Arceus looked down at us, and it hurt my head looking into Arceus's eyes; it was like trying to imagine and understand everything in the universe at once. "Who are you?"

"My name is Y, and I was suppose to the guardian of this world in the events that Abbadon would arise" He explained - there was a certain audacity in his tone - "I failed, and everything that you see before you is my fault, so if you're casting judgment, then cast it on me, because I've been ready to take it for years"

Calem stepped in too. "It's my fault too; I knew all about the bonds but did nothing to stop them"

"So mortals do care" Arceus muttered. "Taking responsibility for your actions is something I admire... very well, I will give you all second chance. I suppose it is my fault too for not personally dealing with Abbadon. You won't remember this, but know that you've been spared"

The ground shook harder than I had ever felt it, and there was a bright white flash. When I woke up, we were all laying in the same grassy field, with the bright sunlight casted down upon us. For some reason... I remembered. I remembered that Arceus had been there just a couple of moments ago, and that what he had done. Looking around, we were all there except for Jason and Anna, who had disappeared.

But, there was still the remains of Y's staff - shattered gold pieces that was. Later I discovered that I was the only one who remembered what had happened, and some part of me thought that Arceus had done that on purpose.

For the next few weeks, we carried on, waves receding against the tides, our problems nothing more than the past. Y had disappeared, and so did Jason, which is how everyone found out about his identity. While he may be gone, his affects and what he taught me will always carry on, and I knew that every time I looked the boy next to me.

the boy next to me. Ash was always by my side when I needed him, and I knew that, he always would be...


	27. Book 2, Chapter One: Tower of Babel

**Book** **2:** **Doors** **of** **Fate**

A month has passed since the ending of Bonds of Amour, and Ash is finally ready to continue his journey through the Kalos Region, with Serena by his side to support him.Y has disappeared (or so they thought). As Ash and Serena travel Kalos, they learn the true ways to become a type-master, while also working their way to becoming a Pokémon Master and Kalos Queen respectively. However, they aren't quite done with school yet, and they'll have to see how things progress with an upcoming regional tournament that could change everything. How will Ash and Serena's relationship change as an affect of all of this?

**Serena** **/** **January** **3rd**

**Despite** **all** **the** **chaos** **going** **on** **in** **front** **of** **me**, I was surprisingly relaxed. Gary, Clemont, Bonnie, and I were sat down on a picnic blanket, watching Ash trained his Frogadier - Froakie had evolved during a battle with Calem - against Anna's Zeraora, who had to have been holding back a lot.

"Don't you think you're working too hard?" I asked my boyfriend. "You should take a break"

"I can only seem to use Hidden Arts when I'm in a pitch" Ash sat down disappointingly and wiped sweat off of his forehead with a rag

"That's usually how they start" Anna nodded. "But it takes a lot of training to use them at will. You'll get there eventually though, I know it"

By now, the idea of a type-master had become worldwide news after Zack, who turned out to be the bug-type master, exposed everything. All type-masters in Kalos were then required to come forward and identity themselves, and we had a good idea of who was who:

Water: Ash

Steel: Calem

Electric: Anna

Bug: Zack

Dragon: Alain

Grass: Sawyer

Fairy: Me

In addition, it didn't take long for the dissapearences of X and Y to become worldwide news as well. After all, the two best trainers in the world had mysteriously vanished into thin air. Even we didn't know what happened - Anna and I were the only ones who remembered the events with Arceus, so my friends didn't either.

And because there was no one else around to train Ash and I, Anna took up the job, considering that she had been trained by the same person as X and Y, and was around the same skill level. None of us really missed X, but Y, who we now all knew was Jason, was a mystery that was unsolved in our friend group. Anna and I thought that Arceus had taken both the alternate Calem and Jason away, and that's why they vanished.

What we did have though, were Jason's Pokeballs, which Anna kept, along with the remains of the shattered staffs. There had been one Pokemon that none of us knew that he had, including Anna, and that was a Pokemon that Professor Sycamore identified as Coalossal, a fire-and-rock-type from Galar.

"You know, ever since Professor Sycamore announced that tournament, I think you've been working a little bit too hard Ash" Gary said. "You should be more like me, taking it chill and relaxing more often"

"Well my goal is to be able to use Hidden Arts by then" Ash replied. "That is, if we stand a chance"

"I think we should be fine. After all, we have three type-masters on my team, four if you include me" I said

"Speaking of having four type-masters, I wonder how Sawyer is doing with his grass-type training" Clemont said

"No clue" Ash shook his head. "I'll just have to test him out the next time we see him"

"Sawyer's a fast learner," Gary pointed out, "I wouldn't be surprised if he could already use Secret Arts as well"

A Pidgeot flew overheard, catching our attentions. It dropped a scroll of paper at my feet, and I quickly picked it up before the breeze could blow it away.

"Looks like we got some kind of message" I held it up

"I hope it's not more problems with the government" Anna sighed - it had taken a lot of explaining for people to understand that type-masters were not dangerous; at least not most of them

Opening up the scroll, it was some kind of emergency message. "It says:

Help need; requesting powerful trainers and type-masters. Meet me at the recently rebuilt cathedral, and more details will be given from there"

"Well, what's in it for us?" Gary questioned

"It's not about the reward, Gary" Ash stood up. "Someone needs our help"

"Never mind that, check it out" I pointed to the bottom of the paper and presented it to Gary

His eyes instantly lit up. "We have to go! Now!"

**.**

"You're awfully excited for someone who just wants the reward" Ash told Gary

"Please" He dismissed. "I want to help too, reward or not"

"Well you didn't really care until you saw one of the rewards was a Keystone" Ash pointed out

"What can I say? I really need one if I want to keep up with you" Gary said

After about twenty minutes of walking, we made it to the cathedral, which had been built to look exactly like it did before X and his Deoxys had destroyed it. On the steps sat a distressed old man, who had his head in his hands.

"Um, hello" I said

The old man looked up, and I told him that we had gotten his message, to which he visibly relaxed. We told him that Ash and I were the water and fairy-type masters respectively, but still in training, while Anna was the electric-type master.

"I'm so glad you came! It's terrible!" He explained. "My crops and fields have become overrun by wild Charizard who won't leave!"

"A horde of wild Charizard... sounds like a big problem" Anna said

"It is" the man nodded

"Then leave it to us" Ash assured. "Plus, this will be good training for Frogadier"

**.**

"Hey Anna," Ash said, "what are Secret God Arts anyways?"

The old man, named Mr. Olson, was currently leading us to his fields, where we would be in charge of getting rid of all of the wild Charizard that were running rampant. He had given us each fire-proof robes just in case, and I thought that the electric-yellow one Anna had been given matched well with her green hair and forest-green eyes.

Ash's was blue, and I thought it looked good on him too. I complimented him on it, and I thought it had been cute how he blushed at it.

"It's the most powerful kinds of moves that you can use" Anna answered. "They take a massive amount of energy though, and can cause fainting to both trainer and Pokemon if not used correctly"

"I've actually been keeping a list of all Hidden, Secret, and Secret God Arts, and what they do, but the one that always perplexed me the most was the Tower of Babel" Clemont said. "I still don't understand what that move does"

"Oh, you mean the one where the dragon opens up the sky?" Gary replied. "I don't get it either, but it's super cool"

"That's one of the most ancient moves known to man" Anna said. "Jason came up with the name of the move, because the original one isn't actually in English"

"The Tower of Babel... I feel like I've heard that somewhere before" I tried to remember

"I know what it is!" Bonnie exclaimed suddenly. "I learned about it in school. The Tower of Babel is the story that explains why we have so many different Pokemon types, instead of them all being just the normal-type"

"Along with God Sleeper, it's probably in the top five most powerful moves of all time" Anna added. "Though it only has a fifty percent chance of landing. Basically, you choose wether or not the dragon is real, and if the opponent guesses correctly, then the attack won't do any damage"

"I see" Clemont nodded understandingly. "That would explain a lot"

A couple of moments later, we finally made it to the field, and we were horrified to see all of what had been green grass turned into burnt, black, smoking grass. Charizard roared and flew rampantly in the sky, some even challenging each other to a duel. It looked more like the surrounding area of a volcano if anything.

"Totally underestimated how bad it was" I exhaled

"Stay back Bonnie" Clemont said. "We should take this on in pairs"

"Serena, you're with me" Ash decided, and I nodded

"That leaves you two" Anna told Gary and Clemont. "I should be fine on my own"

"Brains and brawn, this'll be an interesting combination" Gary grinned and pulled out a Pokeball

"Be safe. These Charizard know nothing but to rampage" Mr. Olson advised

We nodded and broke off into different directions, with Anna taking the middle, Gary and Clemont taking the right-side, and Ash and I going off to the left.

"I know this must be bothering you" I said

"It is" Ash admitted. "Why would wild Pokemon suddenly attack like this? It doesn't make any sense"

"Pika" Pikachu shook his head

"At any rate, we have to get rid of them" I reminded

"I know" Ash stopped and released Frogadier

Pulling out a Pokeball, I decided on using the Mawile I had caught a couple of weeks ago. The second I brought her out, a trio of Charizard turned their attention towards us.

"Frogadier, use Water Pulse!" Ash commanded

"Mawile, Hyper Beam!" I added

Frogadier put its hands together and its side and then launched a Water Pulse, while Mawile turned and shot a Hyper Beam from the big jaw on its back. The combined attacks hit the center Charizard, effectively hitting all of them and setting off an explosion.

"Do you think that was enough?" I asked

"I doubt it"

A strong gust of wind cleared all of the smoke, and the group of three Charizard erupted out. They all spewed a blast of fire, and Frogadier quickly reacted, stopping the attack with another Water Pulse.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt! Frogadier, use Cut!" Ash instructed

"Mawile, help them out with Shadow Ball!" I said

Pikachu jumped off of Ash's shoulder and into the air, shooting Thunderbolt and electrocuting one of the Charizard. Frogadier got a running start and jumped, slashing through the second Charizard while Mawile hit the third with Shadow Ball.

One of the Charizard's quickly retaliated, shaking off the damage and swooping down to smash its fist into the ground, sending Blast Burn right at us. Frogadier attempted to get out of the way, but was hit by the attack, which exploded against him.

"Mawile, use Fairy Wind!" I commanded

Turning back around, Mawile used Fairy Wind from its large back jaw, and the strong, pink gust of wind began to violently repel the three Charizard, who flapped their wings to try and stay put.

"Now Pikachu! Use Electro Ball!" Ash said

Pikachu jumped up and flipped, firing Electro Ball from its tail and hitting all three Charizard simultaneously. The smoke from Blast Burn cleared, and Frogadier fired two Water Pulse, one from each hand, that conjoined into a spiral of water that added on more damage.

"What was that?" Ash asked

"I'm pretty sure that was a Hidden Art!" I guessed enthusiastically

"In that case, good job Frogadier" Ash smiled and held a thumbs up

The three Charizard dropped to the ground, having fainted from all of the attacks. I noticed Ash's smile drop into a frown - he didn't like to hurt Pokemon, even if he absolutely had to.

"Are you alright?" I took his hand

"I wish there was another way we could do this" Ash said, staring off into the distance where electrical attacks were wildly dropping Charizard out of the air like flies

"They don't seem to be under any kind of mind control"

"I know that's what it looks like, but I just don't see any other reason for them to be out of control like this" Ash insisted

"It could be because of the Tower of Babel" Mr. Olson said from behind, walking up to us with a frightened looking Bonnie

"You mean that's real?" I asked

He nodded affirmatively. "Yes. In fact, by flying, it's not too far from here. After hearing what this young girl had to say, it's possible that these Charizard were simply trying to protect the tower, in their own twisted sense of justice"

"If that's the case, then heading over there might give us an idea at what's really going on here" Ash said

"It appears the others have finished subduing all of the Charizard" Mr. Olson pointed out. "This may give us the chance to check out the tower"

"It's our best bet" Ash agreed


	28. Chapter Two: Gates of Purgatory

**Narrator**

**There** **was** **a** **sickening** **darkness** **gathered** at the top floor of the ancient tower. Two pairs of heavy footsteps entered into the room, causing the door to slowly creak open, and they dropped down to one knee in respect to the figure in front of them.

"You two are back already?"

"The plan with the Charizards were a success"

"However... there were complications. My apologies, Master X"

"I sensed it from here" X said, turning around to face his subjects. "Those type-masters already ruined my plans once, but this one is completely full proof"

"What are you planning now?" the poison-type master, Sabrina, questioned curiously

"On my journey I discovered a new way to form the Bonds of Amour for my will" X revealed, placing a book onto the table in front of him - somehow, he had aged fifteen years, and his left arm and the right-side of his face were now both made out of metal. "The process requires the opposite of my previous plan... heartbreak"

"Heartbreak..." Winchester, the 'steel-type slayer' that specialized in fire-types, said. "I believe I'm catching your drift... in fact, the plan is almost so simple it's too good to be true"

"Correct" X nodded. "The death of Ash Ketchum should cause enough grief to the fairy-type master, that the bonds will form"

"People are approaching the tower" Sabrina announced. "I can hear it"

"Go"

**Ash**

"So that's it" I said

We stopped after a long walk - the Tower of Babel had been a thirty minute walk, but we had stopped for ten minutes halfway in. The tower itself was large that enough that it might have been the tallest tower in the world. It was made out of sand-colored stone, with orange patterns painted all around it.

"You think we would know about a tower this big" Anna pointed out

"There's probably a reason for it" Serena said

"Well I don't know about you guys, but I totally want to check it out" Gary cracked his knuckles and pulled out another Pokeball

Deciding it was worth checking out, we began to approach the tower, but stopped about fifty feet away from it when the ground began to shake lightly. Two pairs of heavy footsteps approach us from the right, and two silhouettes appeared beneath the bright sunlight on a small diagonal slab of land with a tip that was raised about fifteen feet off the ground.

"May we help you?" Clemont asked

"I believe you can" one of them said as the sunlight died down, revealing them

The one on the left was a girl wearing a purple robe, with long blonde hair and bright-purple eyes that stared directly into your soul - she was also followed by a Arbok that slithered next to her. On the right was an older man, maybe in his early-thirties, with knight's armor and a red cape that flowed with the wind. In one hand, he held a sword, and in the other, a small can of booze. Over the left side of his chest-plate, the words "Absolute Heat," were imprinted.

"I've heard a lot about you three" the girl said

"Three? There's four of us" Gary responded

"Never heard of you"

"Never heard of me? You haven't heard of, the_,_ Gary Oak? Everyone knows that-"

"Shut up" She narrowed her eyes, and Gary quickly zipped his mouth

"I didn't expect Ash Ketchum to be here" the man said, taking a sip from his can - his voice was deep and laidback

"Are you seriously drinking right now?" the girl retorted

"Hey, if it comes down to it, the Pokemon does the battling, not me" the man defended

"Excuse me, but who are you guys?" Serena asked

The man scanned around, as if looking for something in particular. "No steel-type master, huh? I was hoping to really test out my flames"

"We're the Gates of Purgatory" the girl answered. "Well, two out of seven of them. My name is Sabrina, remember that. This here is Winchester, and he's probably too out of it to answer anything properly"

"That's cool, but you still haven't answered our first question" Gary crossed his arms across his chest

"We have orders to bring you up" Winchester pointed up the top level

"No, we have orders to bring them _down_" Sabrina corrected

"Oh" Winchester realized

A breeze blew by, and gears from underneath the tower shifted in place, as if they were uncomfortable with their current position. Sabrina and Winchester brought out Pokeballs, both which were master-balls.

"Serena, Clemont, we'll handle this" I said

"Are you sure?" Serena asked

"Yeah" I nodded in assurance

Clemont, Bonnie, and Serena jogged away so that they were out of the way of any potential harm, and both enemies brought out their Pokemon - a Salazzle and an Infernape, whose flames were navy blue instead of red.

"Blue flames?" Gary questioned

"My Infernape's flames are just that hot" Winchester grinned

"Good thing I got a powerful water-type on me then" I pulled out a Pokeball and released Frogadier

"Same here" Gary released Blastoise

Anna tossed up a master-ball of her own, revealing a Zapdos whose presence caused thunderclouds to gather.

"Infernape, Flames of Belial" Winchester commanded

Responding quickly, Infernape fired a massive blue Flamethrower from its mouth, leaving no time for Blastoise and Frogadier to dodge and exploding upon contact with the ground.

"Hidden Arts?" Anna asked

"Winchester's the steel-type slayer who specializes in fire-types" Sabrina informed

"Steel-type slayer?" the three of us responded

"Wherever there is good, there's evil" Winchester crushed his can and threw it behind him. "I'm surprised you didn't know. Each type has slayers for each type that's effective against it"

"Though type-masters aren't always good" Sabrina pointed out. "After all, I'm the poison-type master"

"Infernape, Ikari Fist" Winchester continued the battle

Infernape's fist sparked up with blue flames, and he jumped forward; Frogadier backflipped out of the way, narrowly dodging the attack as Infernape came down, smashing its fist where Frogadier had previously been standing.

"Zapdos, Wings of Fury" Anna said

Zapdos bent its wings inward, before spreading them out with all of its force, sending forth winds with electricity circulating them that began to push back Salazzle and Infernape; it kept flapping its wings, constantly keeping the two enemy Pokemon at bay.

"It can only flap its wings for so long" Sabrina said

"Infernape, Flaming Vambrace!" Winchester exclaimed

Bending its arm back, an aura of blue flames surrounded Infernape as a ball of hot energy built up in its hand, and it threw the energy ball like a baseball pitcher; the ball of heat flew rapidly through the intense winds and nailed Zapdos, exploding and causing him to stop.

"Use Twin Blades of Barbados" Sabrina instructed

Salazzle dashed forward, poison building up in both of its arms that built solidified purple blades. It lunged, slashing through Blastoise before Gary could react.

"Frogadier, use Cut!" I said

Frogadier pulled out a white blade and jumped at Salazzle, but missed as the smaller Pokemon was too fast for it. Infernape lunged unexpectedly, hitting Frogadier in the hip with a hard punch that sent it flying back.

"Blastoise, use Rapid Spin!" Gary said

Entering its shell and spinning rapidly, Blastoise launched forward, slamming into Infernape and sending him towards Salazzle, who had no time to move out of the way, and was buried beneath its ally.

"Electric Stinger" Anna added

Six jolts of electricity shot out of Zapdos's back, arching down rapidly and electrocuting both Pokemon and setting off an explosion.

"Looks like you're not so tough after all" Gary confidently mocked

The smoke cleared, and Infernape got up, therefore allowing Salazzle to recover as well. Winchester frowned upon the scratches that its Pokemon had obtained.

"Infernape!" Winchester shouted. "Secret God Art: Wrath of The Eternal Flame!"

"Looks like I spoke too soon" Gary said

The ground began to shake violently, and a ring of blue flames spread around out all around us, keeping us in and only allowing Zapdos to exit it at will. Strings of flames began to shoot out, wrapping around Blastoise and Frogadier's wrists, holding them tightly and burning so hot, that steam began to arise.

"You think?" I retorted

Zapdos transformed into a ball of electricity that quickly zipped through the air, slashing the binds of flames off of our Pokemon and freeing them. However, when it changed back. Infernape and Salazzle fired columns of poison and fire that combined and hit it, setting off a large explosion and sending Zapdos crashing down to the ground.

"Pika" Pikachu said, its cheeks sparking up with electricity

"Not yet, Pikachu. I don't want to risk you getting hurt right now" I replied - Pikachu was too sick to battle with some kind of Pokemon common cold

Gary and I both pulled out another Pokeball for backup, but when we attempted to bring out our Pokemon, nothing happened.

"These flames won't allow you to call any other Pokemon to help you" Winchester said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world

Salazzle spat a ball of poison into the air that spread out like toxic rain, hitting all three of our Pokemon and making them as sick as Pikachu was.

"To think that there's five other ones like these guys" Anna returned Zapdos, and Gary and I did so too

"Well, now that we've beaten you fairly easily," Sabrina said, "make it easy and come with us"

Suddenly, there was a loud roar from the sky that vibrated the ground, and Charizard came crashing down, hitting Infernape with Fire Punch and sending him crashing into the cliffside beneath Winchester and Sabrina.

"A wild Charizard?" Sabrina questioned as it landed on the ground in front of us

"That's no wild Charizard" Anna's eyes widened a bit

"It's clearly wi-" Winchester stopped mid-sentence as the Charizard opened up its mouth, causing the blues from the ring around us to become absorbed into it until it was all sucked up and eaten. "It... ate my flames?"

Footsteps approached from behind, and I spotted a white-robed figure approaching with Clemont, Bonnie, and a concerned-looking Serena.

"Are you alright, Ash?" Serena asked

I nodded. "I'm fine"

"Listen buddy, I don't appreciate the way you interrupted our battle" Winchester said, directing it towards the robed figure

"Secret God Art: Sacred Song" they said simply

Around Salazzle and Infernape, multiples circle of red light appeared underneath them; from the circles, a pitch so loud that it instantly forced us all to cover our eyes was released. Infernape and Salazzle's eyes went wide until their irises and pupils disappeared, leaving only white in their eyes as they fainted.

Shock hit us all, and none of us spoke a word. After a couple of moments, Sabrina and Winchester returned their Pokemon, but went to bring out another one.

"Charizard, Wrath of The Eternal Flames" the robed figured commanded

Charizard repeated Infernape's move from earlier, which made it so that Sabrina and Winchester were unable to call for anymore Pokemon as a ring of fire spread out around them.

"Coming to the tower was an unwise decision" the robed figured pulled down their hood

It was like one of those moments on TV where time seemed to slow down for a couple of seconds; beneath the hood was Jason, whose eyes were fixated on the ring of fire in front of him.

"I can't say I know you people, but your lives are in danger" he informed

"You don't... remember us?" Serena asked

"Remember... I don't remember anything" Jason muttered, waving his hand and calling back Charizard into its ball. "We should leave before there's more trouble"

He began to walk away without a care in the world, and we quickly caught up with him. In his face, he wore this expression that showed something extremely traumatic had happened to him, but he also looked bored at the same time.

"You used two God Arts in a row. Are you alright, Jason?" Anna inquired

"I appreciate the concern, but I won't feel the recoil until later" He answered before turning to me. "You must be Ash"

"Uh-huh" I confirmed, still confused

"It's important that you stay way from the Tower of Babel; the Gates of Purgatory are after you" Jason said

"Who are those guys anyway?" Gary asked

"The Gates of Purgatory... well, they want to send Ash to purgatory. Beyond that, I'm not sure" Jason explained

"What do they want with me?"

"Not sure on that either. All I know is that it's not good"

Serena's grip on my hand tightened a bit, and we gave each other a concerned look. Taking on glance back at the tower before it disappeared from view, I thought I could've seen a pair of dark-red eyes staring at me from the top floor.


	29. Chapter Three: The Party

**Serena / January 3rd**

**"It's an evil unlike no other" **Jason said. "I first discovered of their existence when I came across a fire-type slayer who specialized in water-types... I wasn't able to defeat her"

"Where were you this whole time anyway?" Gary inquired

He put his hand on his head like he was trying to remember something. "When I first woke up, I was stranded in the middle of the desert, locked away in some kind of pyramid, and my hand was bleeding from gripping a shard of gold metal too hard"

"Is there even a desert in Kalos?" Ash asked

"A pretty large one actually" I nodded in confirmation

"I saw things of the future" Jason continued. "This tale isn't over. The upcoming Tournament of Regions could change everything..."

"Professor Sycamore said that each region were to gather ten battlers to compete, and he wanted to get as many type-masters as he could" Ash said

"The professor..." Jason remembered

After a long walk, we finally made it back to Lumiose City and towards the professor's lab. Professor - or principal as I knew him - Sycamore was surprised at Jason's return, and the fact that he had some kind of amnesia. While they talked, we waited with all of the Pokemon, who were happy to see us again - there had been situation a couple of weeks ago, where Team Rocket attempted to steal all of the Pokemon, and we had been the ones to stop them.

"Glad to see your doing better Garchomp" Ash patted its head

"Pika!" Pikachu added

I sighed and shook my head at the memory. "I just hope we don't have to go through that again"

"Right" Gary agreed. "I don't even think I would have done something that reckless"

"I remember watching that on Tv, and I have to say, that was pretty bold" Anna said

Professor Sycamore, with a proud smile on his face, and Jason entered the room. We parted from the Pokemon and gathered back in the center of the room, eager to hear the news.

"I was having some difficulty creating a team of ten, but now I've got an excellent idea!" Sycamore announced. "It's not just about power, but team cooperation as well, which is why the ten will be:

Anna, Ash, Serena, Clemont, Gary, Calem, Sawyer, Tierno, Trevor, and the tenth member will be a surprise"

"You're not competing Jason?" Ash asked

"I wouldn't be allowed to" He shook his head

"Why not? The only rule is no champions or elite-fours" I pointed

"They're looking for me... I shouldn't be here in the first place" Jason vaguely explained

"Who's looking for you? The bells again?" Gary replied

He randomly pointed towards the corner of the room. "Has anyone ever see that Pokemon before?"

We turned, and it was simply a Krabby emerging from the small pond in the grassy room. It gave us a strange look back, as if it were unaware that it had done something bad - and it hadn't.

"It's just a Krabby" Anna said

Turning back, Jason had vanished, and it was apparent that we had fallen for the oldest trick in the book; even Professor Sycamore seemed a bit taken back that he had suddenly disappeared.

"He really did that with a straight face..." Gary said

"I'll go look for him" Anna sighed

Anna exited the room, a half-frustrated and half-annoyed look on her face, like a parent with a misbehaving child - from what I had heard, it wasn't exactly wrong.

Professor Sycamore cleared his throat. "Well, the other regions should be arriving in Kalos today from what I know"

"A month in advance?" Gary asked

"It's an extremely large tournament, and the first of its kind" Clemont explained. "You should see the arena they made, it's about three times larger than the one that they use for the Kalos league"

"The other regions have arrived this much in advance so that they can settle in and begin training, which means we'll be doing the same" Sycamore added. "You all will have the month off of school so that we can begin preparing, and we'll be staying at the inn by the stadium"

Ash leaned in close to me so that he could whisper: "The professor is really serious about winning this tournament. I mean, not that I'm not, but giving us the month off..."

"Well, considering the reward, it was to be expected" I said in all fairness

**Ash / January 4th **

It was around two in the afternoon when Gary ran up the stairs into my room, panting like he had just a ran a mile. He look up at me and raised one finger, but was struggling to get the words out of his mouth.

"Y-Your... girlfriend... is here for you" He finally got out

"Is it time already?" I looked at my clock - today, there was a party for the competitors for each region to attend and introduce themselves to each other; combatants were allowed to bring a plus-one, like a date. "And why are you so tired?"

"What do you mean why am I tired? I ran up the stairs" He responded, and I blinked at him for a couple of seconds until I realized he was serious

We walked down the stairs, saying goodbye to my mom on the way out, and walked outside to be greeted by Shauna and Serena, who were in the middle of some kind of conversation, but stopped once they noticed us making our way over.

Serena and I held hands on the way to the party, but Gary and Shauna were a little bit more awkward about it, hesitating at first until we called them out on it - all four of us were unsure if they were dating or not. We arrived after a twenty minute walk, and found the rest of our friends waiting by the entrance to the dining hall connected to the arena - there would be a minimum of eighty people attending.

"Took you guys long enough" Calem said. "I want to see who we're up against already"

"I'm interesting in seeing the other regions too" Trevor said. "All the kinds of Pokemon they must have... I'm going to get so many pictures!"

Entering the dining hall, it was clear that we were the last ones to arrive, because we were taken aback by the amount of people spread out through the massive room, eating and talking with each other. Scanning the room, it didn't take me long to spot a familiar face all by himself at the Sinnoh region area of the room. He turned his head up and spotted me staring at him, before giving a small smile and making his way across the room over to where we were.

"Well, if it isn't Ash" Paul said. "I figured you would be competing in this tournament, but knowing you, I had no idea for which region"

"Good to see you too" I chuckled, and we shook hands

"Oh wow, you're Paul!" Sawyer exclaimed. "You're the one who battled Ash in the Sinnoh League"

"That's an odd way to be known for, but I guess you're right" Paul replied, amused at the younger boy's enthusiasm

Our team of ten - excluding Anna, who wasn't here yet, and our still-mysterious tenth member - sat down at our designated table along with Paul, and conversations broke out among our teammates and other region's members.

"So I assume that you're the strongest one on Sinnoh's team" I said

Paul shook his head. "You'll be surprised to find out who"

"Look who it is, it's Ash. I might have had to have fined you if I hadn't found you myself" Barry appeared, taking a seat next to Paul

"Hey Barry, it's been a while" I replied

"Too long" He agreed, nodding. "I knew I would find you here, I just didn't know for which region, and I definitely didn't predict Kalos"

By now, it had gotten really loud for all of the conversations. I heard my name get called out by two familiar voices in sync, and I turned to find Brock and Misty heading over from the Kanto table.

"Ash! You're really here!" Misty said

"I didn't expect anything less" Brock added. "Though for which region you would compete for was a total mys-"

"Mystery, yeah, I know" I smiled. "Good to see you guys"

"Are these your friends, Ash?" Serena inquired, turning in her seat to face them

"Guys, this is Serena, my girlfriend" I said

"Wow, Ash really did it before me" Brock nodded and smiled approvingly

"That is a surprise, considering how dense he use to be" Misty said

"I'll have to fine you for not informing me about this!" Barry said

Our group laughed, but Paul's expression went serious again quickly. "So Ash, who's your team's strongest battler?"

The double doors to the dining hall burst open, and Anna, with an annoyed expression on her face, entered the room, dragging in Jason by the wrist. Anna was dressed for the occasion, while Jason was wearing a white robe and a navy-blue bandana - both of them had slightly messy hair however.

"Her" I answered as they made their way over

"What happened to you guys?" Gary asked

"Not much" Anna shrugged. "Well, besides the amnesia that is"

"Why do I have to be here? I'm not even competing" Jason muttered, folding his arms across his chest and scanning the room

Suddenly, the room's temperature dropped to the below zero, and all of the chatting died down as we were all too cold to speak. Our teeth instantly began to chatter, and we crossed our arms across our chest to get warm. Ice inched up the walls of the dining hall and up the roof, even freezing one of the ceiling lamps.

"W-Why'd it get cold all of a sudden?" Serena questioned

"That would be our strongest member" Paul pointed to the entrance of the dining hall, where a silhouette beneath the sunlight appeared

"It's the presence of a type-master" Jason pointed out, unaffected by the cold

The figure stepped into the dining hall and scanned the room; I was shocked to see who stood at the door, with the massive presence and the title of the strongest battler from Sinnoh - Dawn. Her eyes continued looking around, until we made eye contact, and she broke into a smile, jogging over to meet us.

The coldness died down, and the chatting resumed while Dawn reached our table, standing over Paul and waving at me. "Ash! Long time no see!"

"Hey Dawn" I smiled back, waving as well

"I knew you would be here, but I didn't know for which region you would be competing for. Looks like you've moved onto Kalos though" She said

Jason's eyes landed on Dawn, and they narrowed slightly. "The ice-type master, and one of the strongest battlers in all of Sinnoh"

"You're the ice-type master?" I asked, shocked

"Yup! Isn't that cool!" Dawn confirmed with a grin. "I found out not that long after we last saw each other, and since then, I changed professions. Turns out I've got a natural ability for using Hidden Arts"

"How many type-masters are on your guys's team?" Brock inquired

I quickly counted each of them. "We've got five of them, including me"

"You?!" all of my friends said

"I didn't find out until pretty recently, but I'm the water-type master" I explained

"Oh man" Misty pouted - she must have been hoping to be the water-type master, considering how much she likes water-types

"Five type-masters though. You guys are definitely going for the win" Dawn said

"I should fine you for having that much of an advantage!" Barry added. "Though I do wonder how many type-masters are here"

"Well, we have the twin-masters representing Kanto" Misty informed

On cue, two unfamiliar boys around my age appeared next to Brock. The one on the left had messy blonde hair, brown eyes, and wore white pants along with a white shirt that had blue sleeves; on the right was his completely opposite - dark-black hair, eyes, and an all-grey attire.

"Hey, it's Ash" the blonde said, his grin remaining. "My names Leo, and the un-talkative one is Victor. I've waited quite a long time to meet you"

"How do you know me?" I asked

"I've seen all your league matches, and I have to say you were my inspiration to becoming as strong as I am" Leo answered, rubbing his index finger under his nose nervously

"Speaking of type-masters, I know the dark-type master is here representing Johto, the rock-type with Alola, and the flying-type with Galar" Victor said

"I didn't know Kalos had so many type-masters" Leo said. "I can feel the presence of fire, electric, water, fairy, steel, grass and bug all from Kalos"

"Bug?" Serena and I questioned

Footsteps approached the table, and we spotted Zack making his way over to us. "So these are my teammates. Interesting..."

"So you're our tenth member then" Tierno said

"That gives us six type-masters, which is more than half our team" Trevor pointed out

"Underestimating normal trainers would be a grave mistake though" Paul reminded

"He's right" Jason agreed. "Without proper and long enough training, type-masters aren't that much stronger than normal trainers"

"You're suppressing your presence" Victor stated. "Why is that?"

"I shouldn't be here, that's why" Jason glanced at the clock. "It's about time I leave. Don't enjoy yourselves too much"

"What'd you do anyways? Steal a chocolate bar from the store?" Anna looked unamused as Jason was beginning to walk away

"Now's no time for sarcasm" He said, his back still facing her

"I was being serious. You make it seem like the devil is chasing you"

"If only that were the case" Jason turned around - in his eyes, I momentarily saw the image of the entire arena on fire

"Then what's so important that you're running away for?" She stepped forward until they was barely any distance between them

"It's none of your concern"

"If you remembered me, then you know it would be"

Their foreheads pressed against each other, like the scenes in cartoons where two characters were having a comedic argument, except this seemed to be serious - both of them gave each other a scowl; the temperature in the room rose a couple of a degrees, while electricity sparked on the ceiling lamps.

"You're not exactly one to talk, disappearing out of nowhere for five years" Jason revealed that he remember her, before leaning back and beginning to walk away again. "This tournament has no winner, so enjoy the fun while it lasts"


	30. Chapter Four: The Fairy & The Eevee

**Serena / January 11th **

**"Personally, I think we've got this tournament in the bag" **Clemont said as we finished up our dinner. Ash had just won his second gym battle in Kalos against Grant and his rock-types, and we were on our way back when we realized it started to get late; we set up a table and tents next to a river, while Ash trained with Frogadier and Pikachu

"Why do you think that?" I asked

"For one, we have an advantage with the amount of type-masters that we have" Clemont answered. "Not only that, everyone seems really eager to be at their best for this, especially Ash"

Looking over, I noticed that Ash was training in the river, trading commands between Pikachu and Frogadier, but what concerned me more was that he was soaked. "Ash! You're going to catch a cold!"

I tossed him a towel and he caught it, using it to quickly dry his face. "Thanks Serena, but I'll be alright"

And then, he sneezed.

**January 12th **

"Looks like Ash still hasn't woken up yet" Bonnie said as we were finishing up our breakfast

"Well, he usually wakes up pretty late" I replied. "I should probably check up on him anyways though"

I got up and began to walk over to his tent, but halfway, he emerged with a drowsy look on his face, as if he had slept for the first time in weeks.

"Morning, Ash! Are you hungry?" I said

Mumbling something about the tournament, Ash walked over and collapsed into my arms. "Tournament... I have to... keep training"

"You have to rest first," I placed my hand on his forehead and checked his temperature, "because it looks like you really did get a cold"

"There's a town not too far back, Bonnie and I can go get some medicine while you stay here and take care of Ash" Clemont offered

"Good idea, thanks guys" I nodded

Clemont and Bonnie headed off in the direction we had come from, towards one of the towns we had passed through, while I got Ash back to his tent, and enlisted the help of Fennekin, Mawile and Pancham - my most recently caught Pokemon, and quite the trouble-maker at times.

"Thanks for taking care of me Serena, I don't know what I would do without you" Ash said as I applied a warm towel to his forehead

"I'm not sure either" I giggled. "Besides, it's my job to take care of you anyways"

I leaned in to give him a kiss, but Pancham suddenly bursted into the tent in a panic, pointing outside.

"What's wrong, Pancham?" Ash inquired, propping himself up with his elbows

"You stay here, I'll check it out" I said

Exiting the tent, I was immediately met by a semi-strong gust of wind as a familiar Charizard landed next to the tent, followed by Alain who had his natural smile on.

"Serena, what a pleasant surprise. Charizard here picked up your scent on the way back to Lumiose, so I thought I would drop by and deliver some news" He said

"Hey, Alain. What's up?" I replied

"There's something important I would like to confirm with you" His face went serious. "You _do _remember both X and Y, correct?"

"Of course" I nodded

Charizard huffed steam through his nose, and Alain placed his hand on its head. "I was talking to a couple of colleagues of mine, and it seems they weren't able to remember them at all. I've tested my hypothesis with many people, and you're the first to be able to remember them"

Flashbacks flowed through my mind - Arceus, the battle at the cathedral, and when each of them first revealed their identity to me. "That's strange. Do you have any reason why that would happen?"

"I have my suspicions, but I'm not entirely sure yet. I'll have to do some more investigating" He said. "Stay safe, Serena. I have no idea what's to come from this tournament, but something tells me it might not all be good"

It didn't occur to me until after he disappeared from my sight, that it was strange he hadn't become our tenth member in the tournament. Certainly, he would probably work better with us than Zack, and Professor Sycamore seemed to have teamwork as the forefront thought.

When I turned back around to reenter Ash's tent, from the corner of my eyes, I spotted a pair of small eyes looking back at me. I looked everywhere before spotting their origin: behind a flat rock just off to the right of the tent. It poked its head out, and I noticed that it was an Eevee with a neatly-made flower crown on its head. Whimpering, it took no more than a couple of seconds before turning around and running off.

"Wait!" I called out - for some reason, I felt compelled to run after it

It wasn't until after a five minute run that I gave up - I had completely forgotten about Ash, and was lost in the middle of the woods; I tried to find my way out, and walked in the direction I had come from.

Something caught my ears on the way back, and I turned to the left to see another flat rock in the center of a gap in between the forest. I walked towards it, and found the Eevee from before slowly climbing up to it; I watched on as it made sure there was no one around, and then began to dance around gracefully.

I watched on for only Arceus knows how long, until it spotted me and stopped, whimpering and stepping back in fear, however, it backed up too much, and slipped off the rock, which was relatively high in comparison to it. Quickly, I rushed out of my hiding spot and walked around the rock; Eevee was getting up slowly, but it had hurt one of its legs, which meant that it slipped and fell face-first when trying to run away again.

"It's alright Eevee, I won't hurt you" I walked over and picked it up into my arms. "Here, I'll take you back to our camp and we can treat your leg"

**.**

"Looks like we're totally lost" I sighed, slumping against a tree with Eevee still in my arms. "I'm sorry, Eevee"

Leaves rustled off to my side, and my attention quickly turned towards the direction it had come from, but I found nothing at all; I shoved it off as just my imagination, until I heard it again, this time from somewhere up in the trees. Even Eevee had a suspicious look on its face, as the rustling began to come off from different directions.

"Hello?" I said, my voice sounding a bit fearful

"_Hi there_" a voice replied, as a Spritzee floated down from a high tree

"A Spritzee?" the idea of another talking Pokemon slipped my mind

"_It's nice to finally meet you, Serena" _

"You can talk?" I inquired

"_I'm just a voice in your head, what you see in front of you is just my physical manifestation" _the voice explained. "_You must know who I am"_

"Am I suppose to?"

the voice giggled. "_I'm the fairy-spirit, and the one who chose you to be the next fairy-type master_"

"I, um... thanks?" I managed. "Do type masters usually get visited by their spirits?"

"Not usually, but I came to warn you, Serena" it said

"Warn me? Of what?"

"_You and the water-type master are in danger. There's someone still trying to harness the Bonds of Amour_" it explained. "_Unfortunately, I can't tell you any specifics. Even being here and telling you that you're in danger is stretching my limits_"

"But how do you know that I'm in danger in the first place"

"_All spirits are connected to the Tower of Babel, and I became aware that one of the dark-type masters, who currently reside there, are going under 'Plan-D.A.K.' to form the bonds. If you can somehow get to the tower and find out what's going on, then it might be possible to stop them_"

"Well, last time I was there, we got attacked by people who claims to be 'Gates of Purgatory'" I replied

"_If you win the tournament, then I'll visit you again and lend you some more support, Serena. For now, I must go" _there was a bright pink glow that engulfed the Spritzee, and I had to shield my eyes from the overwhelming brightness. "_I'll leave you with one last gift, the Fairy Spear. You'll only be able to use it once, so use it wisely_"

Before I could ask the hundreds of questions I wanted to, the Spritzee disappeared, along with the voice in my head. There was a small burning sensation on my palm, and I turned my hand over to see the fairy-type emblem burnt into it, like a tattoo.

"Mom's going to kill me"

**.**

Miraculously, I found my way back to the campsite and back to my Pokemon, who looked surprisingly composed, considering I had been gone for about twenty minutes. Something in the back of my head told me to check my watch, and I was shocked to find that only three minutes had passed since I had run off.

"Three minutes?"

I shook my head and brushed the idea off, reentering the tent to find Ash fast asleep, his natural, faint smile on his face. Sitting next to him cross-legged, I placed Eevee down and bandaged up her injured leg.

"There you go, it should heal with some rest" I said

It gave a look of gratitude, and I thought I had gained its trust; it turned around and spotted Ash, before jumping backwards into my lap and whimpering for its life.

"It's alright Eevee, that's just my boyfriend, Ash" I assured. "He cares a lot about Pokemon and would never hurt one, so you don't need to feel threatened"

As I waited for Bonnie and Clemont to return, I introduced Eevee to my trio of Pokemon - Pancham, Mawile and Fennekin. She was shy at first, but she was slowly getting accustomed to their presence as I bushed her fur.

"I saw how beautifully you were dancing earlier, and it reminded me of how much I want to become Kalos Queen" I said

Eevee looked up, interest glimmering in its eyes.

"If you really like to dance, then how about you and I work together?" I offered

The Pokemon thought about it for a moment before giving its approving look and nodding; I brought out a Pokeball, and smiled as I lightly tapped its forehead with the ball. Three shakes and an explosion of sparkles later, I had caught my fourth Pokemon, Eevee.

"Serena! We're back!" Bonnie exclaimed, running up to my side

"S-Sorry it took so long" Clemont said out of breath and slowly walking over with the bag of medicine in his bag

"What do you have there, Serena? A new Pokemon?" Bonnie asked

"Yeah! I caught an Eevee while you guys were gone" I held up the Pokeball

"Oh, wow! An Eevee! Can I see it?" Bonnie responded

"Well, about that..." I hesitated in letting the younger girl down. "It's pretty shy, so how about I introduce you two another time?"

"Sounds good to me! As long as I get to see it" Bonnie smiled

**.**

Ash recovered a few hours later, and we arrived back in Lumiose City - at Team Kalos's inn - just before dawn. Our inn - connected to the massive arena for the tournament - was like a mini-but-large hotel, where we each had our room, along with a dining and living room.

"You guys sure took your sweet time" Gary said - he was in the living room along with Shauna, Tierno, and Trevor. "I would have been in and out in a few hours"

"Sorry, one of us decided us to get sick along the way" I replied

"Pika" Pikachu sighed, shaking his head in disappointment

"My bad" Ash chuckled, rubbing his finger under his nose

"We've only got around three weeks to do some training, so we should stop slacking off and get in some real training tomorrow" Gary suggested

"Sounds good to me. It's been a while since we've battled actually"

"Classic Ash, already back to training" I sighed

"What can I say? I can't help it" Ash said. "Plus, we've got to take this seriously and not underestimate the other regions"

"The Galar region battlers look pretty tough if you ask me" Tierno said

"And the Sinnoh region has Dawn" Trevor reminded

"Right" Ash mumbled, and a hard-thinking expression forming on his face as he walked up the stairs. "Tomorrow, we have to get some serious training done"


	31. Chapter Five: Mach Speed

**Serena / January 12th / 8 PM**

**Against my will, the floor creaked **as I walked down the hall towards Ash's room. Giving two knocks like I usually did, I wasn't left waiting long as Ash opened the door to his room - I could tell he had been thinking hard about something, and he had ever since we arrived back at the inn.

"Hey, Serena" He said, a smile replacing his previous expression. "Need something?"

"Not necessarily," I responded, "I was just hoping we could talk"

He motioned for me to come in, and I walked into his room, which was nearly identical to my room, because the two of us didn't bother decorating it much. We sat on the side of his bed, facing the window that had a view of the large battlefield we had for training.

"Is something bothering you? You've been thinking about something really hard ever since we got back" I pointed out

"Well, to tell the truth, it's about Dawn" Ash admitted. "I was the one who really helped her out with battling, and now she's become so much stronger than me in such a short time"

"You don't know that for sure" I said

"I can tell by the way Paul describes her" Ash replied. "Not to mention, her presence alone as an ice-type master chilled up the entire room"

"Jason and Anna don't have presences like that, so it could just be something unique to ice" I argued. "Or it's just for show, and she does it on purpose"

Ash continued to look out the window, and I noticed that Tierno and Trevor were having a practice match while Gary refereed and Shauna watched; Wartortle went up against Charmeleon, and the contrasting battling styles made for a difficult battle.

"That's true I guess, but it still doesn't change the fact that I have to get stronger for the tournament" Ash said. "That is, if I have a shot at battling the other type-masters"

If there was anyone to be concerned in all of this, it had to have been me. There was no doubt about it: I was the weakest person on our team, despite being the fairy-type master. If Ash was concerned about his current strength, then I would have to do some catching up.

"Then we'll get stronger together" I turned and offered a smile, to which he emulated

**January 20th **

"Blastoise, shoot him out of the air with Hydro Pump!" Gary commanded

"Charizard, dodge it and use Flamethrower!" Ash said

Blastoise aimed and fired Hydro Pump out of its mouth, purposefully aiming to the side of Charizard, so that when it moved, the attack would connect; an explosion of steam was set off, but Charizard had survived the attack.

"Use Dragon Claw!" Ash continued

"Don't let him get close. Use Rapid Spin!" Gary countered

"They've already gone through four Pokemon each, but neither of them are giving up" I said

"It's amazing how much either of them want to win, but that was to be expected from those two" Shauna replied

Currently, we were just outside the inn at our provided battlefield, watching as Ash and Gary battled for what seemed to be like the first time in a long time. Shauna, Calem, and I were sat on a table by the exit to the inn and the entrance to the battlefield, beneath an umbrella connected to the center of the table, which provided us with a shield from the shining sun.

In the past week, Ash had been making a lot of progress, especially with his water-types, which were all their final evolution, except for Frogadier, who was still exceptionally powerful for its middle evolution. On the other hand, I had been making a lot of progress with my Pokemon as well, and even Eevee was well-equipped for battling. She was still quite nervous, but she was comfortable around Pikachu, Ash, and I, and even Clemont's Bunnelby for an unknown reason.

Footsteps walked out the of the inn, and Jason, wearing a set of normal clothes and a white cape exited; he made just in time to see the final result of the battle: a tie, as Charizard and Blastoise's attacks exploded against each other at pointblank range.

"Passersby were concerned about why there were so many explosions coming from over here" He said

"I've got nothing to say except that Ash won't admit I'm still stronger than he is" Gary replied

"Well it's a tie so far" Ash brought out a fifth Pokeball after returning Charizard

"And I'm going to break it" Gary tried to bring out another Pokeball, but realized he didn't have any. "Oh man"

"Looks like Ash wins by default" Shauna giggled

"Speaking of winning, I want a rematch" Calem told Jason

"I don't remember our previous battle, but you and Ash can practice some teamwork while you're at it" Jason exchanged spots with Gary on the battlefield

"Sounds like the perfect practice for the tournament to me" Ash agreed

"Fair enough" Calem nodded, walking over next to Ash

The three trainers brought out their Pokemon - Charizard against Lucario and Frogadier - and Gary stood at the reffing spot, announcing the rules.

"This should be an interesting battle, considering how strong they've gotten in the past few days" Shauna said

"They may even have a shot at winning"

"Alright, battle begin!" Gary announced

Charizard let out a roar, and Frogadier looked slightly intimidated while Lucario got into its battle-ready stance.

"Use Iron Fist!" Calem began

"And use Cut!" Ash added

Lucario's fist shined with a silver color as it solidified into pure metal; Frogadier brought out a sharp white blade, and together, the two Pokemon charged forward; Charizard smashed both of its fists into the ground, causing cracks to form in the battlefield that stretched out and stopped Lucario and Frogadier as a Blast Burn-esque attack hit them.

"Metal Slash!" Calem commanded

Lunging at a rapid speed, Lucario hit Charizard with a hard-to-see attack as Frogadier charged up an attack.

"Flames of Hades" Jason said

"Iron Scales!" Calem quickly defended

Charizard fired a pointblank Flamethrower compose of icky green flames that hit Lucario, who was surrounded with a silver glow, and sent him flying back, but dealing no damage. Frogadier let loose a powerful Water Pulse, which collided with Charizard and exploded against him.

"So far so good" I said

"They make a good team" Shauna said

Suddenly, the flames from explosion began to swirl in; the smoke disappeared as the flames spiraled and curved into Charizard's mouth - in other words, he had eaten the fire.

"Secret Art: Burning Wings of Despair" Jason commanded

Flying up into the air, Charizard spread out its wings as an aura of flames surrounded it, with multiple circles of energy appearing in the sky, angled downwards towards the battlefield.

"We can't let him use that attack" Calem said. "Lucario, Secret Art: Final Flash Cannon!"

"Use Water Pulse again!" Ash instructed

The ground began to shake as Lucario charged up two Flash Cannon, one in each arm, and put them together in front of him; Frogadier pitched a quick Water Pulse, but it did nothing to stop the attack.

Columns of flames shot down from the sky, raining down before Lucario could fired its attack, and setting off multiple explosions that consumed the entire field with smoke. Moments later, a massive attack - presumably Lucario's - shot out of the smoke, connecting with Charizard in a large-scale explosion.

Once again, the smoke instantly cleared as Charizard consumed all of the flames that had come from the explosions.

"What in Arceus is he doing? He's eating all of the flames" Calem said, an annoyed expression on his face

"You answered your own question" Jason replied as Charizard landed back down on the ground. "Frogadier could gain power and some health back by consuming water, while Lucario could do the same by eating metal or iron"

"We have to be careful and not set off any explosions than" Ash said. "Frogadier, use Aerial Ace!"

"Lucario, use Double Blade Dance!" Calem instructed

Two swords made of pure metal formed in Lucario's hands, as it dashed across the battlefield with Frogadier; Charizard waited until the last moment to launch itself up into the air, avoiding the attacks and front-flipping, while firing a Flamethrower midway through the flip that connected with both Pokemon.

Frogadier and Lucario shared a quick look, and so did their trainers, as if they knew what do; Lucario jumped up, and Frogadier provided a boost as it placed both of its arms beneath one of its feet and launched him forward; Charizard was unable to dodge as Lucario slashed both of its swords across it. Frogadier then jumped into the air as well, uppercutting Charizard with Aerial Ace.

"Secret Art: Gravity Zone!" Calem exclaimed, and Lucario held both of its hands up to the sky; on the battlefield, the gravity changed, causing Charizard to crash into the ground and become pinned to it. "Now, Ash"

"Frogadier, use Water Pulse!" Ash said, with his usual finishing-move tone

Jumping up into the air, Frogadier shot downwards two Water Pulses that hit the stuck Charizard, and finishing up the battle with a big explosion of steam.

Quick footsteps were heard, and the rest of our friends flooded out of the inn.

"I thought I heard some intense battling going on" Clemont said

"Can't say I was disappointed either. Three type masters sure do make for a destructive battle" Tierno said

The smoke cleared, and I was shocked to see Charizard still standing, small sparks of electricity circulating around it.

"It survived all of that?" Shauna questioned

"I saw the whole fight from my window, and I'm surprised that it's still up as well" Sawyer agreed

A bright glow of multiple colors illuminated off of Charizard as its shape began to change into its Y-Mega Evolved form; it finished evolving, and then roared as an aura of fire and electricity covered it.

"Electric-Flame mode" Calem said. "I was afraid of going up against this"

"What even is that anyway?" I inquired

"I have no idea myself" Anna shook her head. "Ever since Charizard absorbed Zeraora's electricity, he's been able to activate that"

"Must be some kind of type master secret ability" Sawyer quickly wrote down notes into his journal

"Lucario, pummel him with Iron Fist!" Calem resumed

Unafraid, Lucario dashed forward, both of its fists glowing with a silver outline. Its fist connected with Charizard's face, but did nothing more than move it to the side a couple of inches; we watched as Charizard hit back with tremendous force, smashing its fist, which lit up flames and electricity, into Lucario's gut, sending him crashing into the wall behind Calem in an instant.

"Secret Art: Overheat Magnetron" Jason said, his voice as chilling as the electricity I could feel from all the way over here

"Dodge it Frogadier, just like we practiced!" Ash confidently said

Frogadier nodded as Charizard roared; spikes of flames began to shoot out of the ground like a mole in those whack-a-mole games, and Frogadier quickly took off, dashing around in a zigzag pattern and avoiding all of the flames.

On the other hand, Lucario struggled to recover, limping back to the battlefield but collapsing once it did.

"Thanks Lucario, you did well" Calem returned his Pokemon

"It's all up to Frogadier now" I said, genuinely concerned that Frogadier would have to battle Mega Electric-Charizard on its own

"Use Aerial Ace!" Ash commanded as Charizard flew up into the air

However, Frogadier was quick, and jumped off the ground, hitting Charizard with an Aerial Ace that did minimal damage; Charizard quickly struck back, swiping its fist and sending Frogadier crashing down into the ground.

"Burning-Thunder Roar" Jason instructed

"Stop that with Cut!" Ash decided, with no time for Frogadier to dodge in its current condition

Letting loose another loud roar, Charizard fired a mixed column of fire and electricity; Frogadier activated two cuts, one in each hand, and held them above him in an x-shape. The attacks connected, and Frogadier was struggling to resist the attack.

"That attack could seriously hurt it if it connects" Anna said

"Frogadier's gotta hang in there" Tierno added

A bright blue glow illuminated off of Frogadier as it began to gain height and strength, and the attack was slowly getting pushed back.

"It's evolving!" Clemont adjusted his glasses

Then, a massive column of water shot out of Frogadier - now apparently Greninja - that instantly vaporized the attack and consumed the Pokemon. Ash looked confused at first, until the column reduced into a bubble of water that surrounded Greninja - both of them had a faint red glow to their eyes.

"Is Greninja suppose to look like that?" Gary asked

"No" Calem said. "That's something else entirely"


	32. Chapter Six: The Phenomenon

**Serena **

**Whatever had happened, it was't normal **\- Greninja, who had just evolved, was encased by an aura of water; you could say that he resembled Ash in a way, with some of his features. Mega Charizard landed back onto the ground, still in its Electric-Flame mode, taking interest in the change in its opponent.

"Greninja, use Hydro Slash!" Ash commanded, making the same movements as Greninja

"Use Fist of Zeus!" Jason countered, getting serious

Greninja conjured up two sharp blades, both made completely of water, and lunged forward rapidly; Mega Charizard's fists lit up with fire and electricity as it dashed forward; both Pokemon clashed in the center of the battlefield, exchanging attacks as they moved around.

"He's keeping up with Charizard now" Clemont said

"How cool! Greninja's totally different than any other one I've seen" Sawyer continued to write down notes

Finally, Greninja landed both slashes to Charizard, forcing the enemy Pokemon to retreat back to the other side of the battlefield.

"Use Water Vortex!" Ash continued

"He's using Hidden Arts now" Calem pointed out

"Maybe he unlocked it with the evolution" Gary guessed

Two spheres of water appeared in each of Greninja's hands, and he held them out in front of him; a massive vortex of water shot out, swallowing up Charizard and curving around like a rollercoaster before slamming him down into the ground.

"Looks like he's winning now" Tierno said, while Trevor took pictures of the battle

"Whatever's going on, it seems to be in Ash's favor" I said

"Use Water Shuriken Frenzy!"

A collection of water bubbles formed in the air around Greninja, and they began to form into medium-sized shurikens. Charizard took flight, flying around the battlefield in an attempt to avoid them, but was hit by most of the quick-moving water shurikens.

"Now use Aerial Ace!" Ash continued

Greninja jumped up into the air, above Charizard, and slammed its leg down onto the Mega Evolved Pokemon, sending him slamming against the ground again. Charizard quickly recovered and wrapped its tail around Greninja's leg as the Ninja Pokemon landed back down onto the ground; he began to spin in place with great force, before letting go, which through momentum, caused Greninja to go flying back to the other side of the battlefield.

"Use Dragon Fire!" Jason said

Charizard fired a Flamethrower that zipped through the air, curving around impossibly towards the opponent Pokemon, who was nearly caught off-guard.

"Water Slicer!" Ash countered

Forming two blades of solidified Water, Greninja sliced up the attack, stopping it completely before running across the battlefield and attacking Charizard with the blades, landing two swift cuts.

"Charizard, use Flamethrower"

At pointblank range, Charizard fired a Flamethrower that pushed Greninja back, but did no damage as the Pokemon's water bubble protected it from the flames.

"Secret Art: Heaven's Tower!" Jason exclaimed

A circle of red light appeared beneath Greninja's feat, and the massive column of flames erupted from the ground, carrying Greninja so high up into the air, that he disappeared from view. We waited for what seemed like forever, until Greninja came flying back down, using the momentum to slam Charizard down with Aerial Ace.

"That's gotta hurt" Gary winced

"Nice, Greninja" Ash said as it returned to its original position on the battlefield

Still, somehow, able to battle, Mega Charizard Y stood back up and shook its body, clearing off the dust and dirt it had been coated in from all of the impacts with the ground.

"Ash is actually winning now that Greninja is evolved" I said

"Not just that, it looks like the water bubble around him is some kind of power boost" Anna added

"It's the seventh stage of evolution" Jason explained

"Seventh?" Gary counted to four with his fingers. "I thought there was only four"

"The fifth is the advanced, or complete, mega evolved form, which is the one Charizard is in" Jason said. "Sixth, is the mixed-elemental form that Charizard also has active. Only type masters can achieve this state by having their Pokemon absorb enough of another masters element"

"And seventh?" I asked

"Bond Phenomenon, the syncing between trainer and Pokemon" Jason revealed

Ash raised an eyebrow. "Bond Phenomenon? Is that what's going on? I do feel I'm in sync with Greninja, but it's more complicated than that"

"Only one way to test it out" Jason said. "Charizard, use Flamethrower!"

"Greninja, use Water Slicer!" Ash replied

Charizard fired a column of flames, and Greninja ran forward, the blades of condensed water forming in its hands; Greninja cut cleanly through the attack, but was caught off guard by Charizard who hammered both of its fists down against its head, slamming Greninja against the ground.

Ash put his hand on his head, as if he had felt the damage from the attack as well.

Jason allowed Greninja to get up before commanding: "Burning-Thunder Fists"

Greninja attempted to jump back, but Charizard lunged after it, and began to pummel it with a fury of punches that were mixed with fire and electricity. Visibly, Ash slightly winced, and held one of his arms with the other.

"Water Vortex!" Ash exclaimed

Repeating the attack from earlier, Greninja sent Charizard flying back to its original spot on the battlefield by summoning a vortex of water that carried the Pokemon with it. Then, for no reason, the ground began to shake heavily as a dozen circles of energy appeared around Greninja, some floating, and others grounded.

"Secret God Art: Sacred Song!" Jason's voice echoed across the field

Before Greninja could move a muscle, a high pitch of sound was released from the energy circles, causing Ash to block his ears and Greninja to drop to its knees. Moments later, the attack finished, and we all took our hands off of our ears.

"Damage through pure sound. What a powerful move" Gary said

"It is a godly art after all" Sawyer said

Charizard flew across the battlefield, rocking Greninja in the gut as it recovered with another Burning-Thunder Fist, causing him to crash into the wall behind Ash. The water bubble dissipated, and Greninja's extra features broke off into sparkles, revealing the normal Greninja that I knew. Meanwhile, Ash dropped to his knees and fainted against the ground.

**Ash / January 21st **

My eyes opened slowly, and I took in my surroundings: I was back at my room inside the inn, but there was something holding onto me tightly. On my right, Serena was sitting on a chair beside my bed, but she had fallen asleep, so her head was resting on the bed with one of her hands still only chest, tightly gripped.

Memories from what had happened came back to me - Frogadier evolving, Bond Phenomenon, and the fact that I had fainted after the battle - and I sat up in my bed - on my left, Pikachu was resting on the bed as well, which meant it must have been early in the morning, or at least compared to the time I usually woke up.

Serena awoke a couple of moments later, rubbing her eyes and sitting up in her chair. "You're finally awake"

"How long was I out?" I asked

"Well it's ten in the morning, and you passed out around lunch time yesterday" Serena said

I looked outside the window, and the sun was shining brighter than it had yesterday. "That's a long time to be asleep. Any idea why?"

"Apparently Bond Phenomenon is pretty tiring if you're not use to it" Serena shrugged. "Jason left afterwards so we didn't get much information, but you and Greninja were in sync, right?"

"Yeah, it was like we were one," I said, "and after Greninja evolved, the Hidden Arts just started to come to me naturally. If I could capitalize on that, then I could have a real shot at battling the other tough opponents in the tournament"

A concerned frown formed on Serena's face. "I know it's exciting at all, but you should take it easy. I mean, you kind of fainted"

"But that's how you get use to it" I replied. "Sure I fainted this time, but who knows what'll happen next time"

"Exactly. No one knows what could happen" Serena said. "I just don't want to see you get hurt, so it would help if you took it easy first"

"I guess so" I agreed

Her smile returned, and she giggled. "Knowing you, you'll probably want to get back to training as soon as possible"

"Greninja and I are going to need a lot of practice so that we don't end up fainting in the middle of the tournament" I said

"I know you can do it, because you're Ash," Serena replied, "and to me, you're a Pokemon Master"

**Gary / Hours Later**

"The nerve of that guy" I muttered as I walked through a park in Lumiose City, looking around for the sight of a white cape

I spotted a kid around my age wearing a gray sweater in a further part of the park, catching bug-type Pokemon like there was no tomorrow, which I found oddly strange. A part of me told me to ask him for any clues, and I thought I might as well, and question him on what he was doing while I was at it.

"Hey, you" I said as I approached him

"What's up?" He stopped his frenzy and turned towards me

"You see a guy around here with a white cape?" I asked

"Not that I can remember" He replied. "You're Gary, right?"

"You know me?" I raised an eyebrow. "Wow. Someone finally recognizes me"

"I saw you at the party the other day. If I can remember correctly, you're competing for Kalos" He said. "My name's Gou, and I'm from Galar"

"Galar, huh? Can't say I know much about that region" I said as we shook hands. "Got any type masters on your team?"

"We have Aero, the flying-type master" Gou informed. "He's pretty powerful, though that's not much of a surprise"

"I see" I nodded, looking around at the lack of bug-type Pokemon. "So what's with the frenzy-catching? If the bug-type master weren't on our team, then I would have guessed you were him"

"My goal's to catch every Pokemon in the Pokedex" Gou said

"That's definitely one heck of a goal" I responded. "What made you want to do that?"

"The mythical Pokemon, Mew" Gou looked up into the sky, as if he was trying to remember some distant memory. "Ever since I saw it, I knew I wanted to catch every Pokemon, and one day, Mew as well"

"Yeah, well, I'm going to be the world's greatest professor" I said. "Anyway though, I should get going. I have to find who I'm looking for so I could learn Bond Phenomenon"

**.**

After wandering around Lumiose City for another hour, I was unable to find Jason, and I was just about ready to give up and go home when I walked by a familiar face sitting outside a small store, enjoying a cup of coffee.

"Hey! You're the crazy lady who attacked us a couple of weeks ago!"

"Can't say I remember you" Sabrina said

"Gary Oak" I reminded her

"Nothing" She shrugged

"We were at the really tall tower" I continued. "You were with some dude named Winchester, and you called yourselves gates or something like that"

"Oh. You must have been with Ash and Serena" She remembered. "Yes, you were the annoying one"

"At least she remembered" I muttered. "What's a villain like you doing out here anyway?"

"Villain?" Sabrina raised an eyebrow. "That's an odd choice of words, because I'm no villain. I was just simply doing my job"

"You tried to capture us"

"I didn't try to capture _you_"

I sighed. "You know what I mean"

"No matter what happens, we'll have our way" She took a sip of her drink. "After the tournament, things are going to change. Big time"

"That's not the first time I've heard that, which means you guys are up to something no good" I replied

"We just have a simple goal: to make the world a better place" Sabrina said

"Is exactly what all villains say"

"We're different"

"And that's how they all justify it"

Somehow, she kept her cool. "You may think its all fun and games now, but when the time comes, you'll see what I'm talking about"


	33. Chapter Seven: Let The Games Begin!

**Narrator / February 5th / Day 1**

**After a long month, the day had finally come. **Ash and the rest of his team gathered at their balcony to the massive tournament arena - it was situated above the crowd, and large enough to hold twenty people; each region, eight in total, had their own balcony as well, and from where they stood, they could see the members of the other teams

"Welcome one and all to the first annual Grand Regional Tournament!" the first judge, Mr. Simmons, said from the commentators viewing box above the crowd. "This is the first of its kind, so we'll be explaining just how it works:

in total, there will be seven days to the tournament, and each day, there will be one mini-game and four randomized battles. For some games, not only will the Pokemon have to compete, but the trainers as well"

"Four battles, which means one of us will battle each day" Gary said

"There's going to be four one-on-one's, and three two-on-two battles" Professor Sycamore explained. "For the tag-team battles, we'll be allowed to choose who battles, and for the singular battles, it'll be random"

"Joining me today as a commentator will be Champion Cynthia and Flint of the Elite Four, both from Sinnoh" Mr. Simmons said. "Today's Mini-Game will be Hide-Seek-and-Battle! The entire city of Lumiose, where the competitors already are, can either choose to hide and attempt to be the last person standing an earn five points, or eliminate others for one point each"

The glass barrier around the crowd that protected them from Pokemon attacks coming from inside the arena displayed an aerial view of Lumiose City, which wasn't too far away. For Kalos, Ash had been randomly chosen to compete in today's mini game, and he was already there.

"So you could technically get a total of twelve points" Serena said, holding Pikachu in her arms - each competitor was only allowed one Pokemon, and Ash had gone with Greninja

"Ash has got this in the bag. After all, he's got Greninja with him" Tierno confidently said

"We'll just have to see" Calem mumbled

"Our competitors goes as follows: Brock from Kanto, Elias from Johto, Jasper from Hoenn, Barry from Sinnoh, Maisy from Unova, Ash from Kalos, Kiawe from Alola, and Koharu from Galar!" the camera switched to a view of each competitor as their name was called out. "With that said, let the tournament begin!"

The crowed erupted with cheers as the competitors, visible via the screen, began to converge towards the center of Lumiose - none of them seemed interested in camping it out, and instead wanted to battle.

"Looks like we already have our first battle between Ash of Kalos, and Koharu of Galar!" Mr. Simmons announced, the screens switching to their battle

"Greninja, I choose you!" Ash released the Ninja Pokemon

"You're up Gallade" Koharu released the Blade Pokemon **(If you don't know who Koharu is, I suggest doing a quick google search on her - she's from the s&s anime) **

"Hopefully Koharu is good, because she's going up against Kalos's water-type master" Flint reminded

"Ash is a skilled battler indeed" Cynthia agreed

"This should be an easy point for Ash" Gary said

"I wouldn't underestimate them though" Zack responded, out of character for his cocky attitude. "We don't know anything about these people"

"Gallade, use Night Slash!" Koharu commanded

"Greninja, stop that with Cut!" Ash defended

Gallade lunged, but Greninja was insanely quick as it slashed straight through the enemy Pokemon in the blink of an eye.

"Thunder Punch!" Koharu continued

Greninja turned around, and was instantly hit by a hard Thunder Punch that sent the Pokemon crashing into the side of a building. "Use Misty Terrain," Gallade created a thick layer of pink mist that blinded Ash's view on Greninja.

"Jump up the building and use Water Shuriken" Ash instructed

Blowing away some of the mist with the force of its jump, Greninja began to jump from building to building until it was thirty feet above the ground, where it fired a large Water Shuriken down; Gallade was directly hit and the force cleared the mist.

"Stop his fall with Stone Edge!" Koharu exclaimed

"Use Vanishing Slash!" Ash countered

Columns of stone arose from the ground, each higher than the last, but Greninja vanished just before the last one could hit him; he reappeared behind Gallade, landing a finishing slash with a blade made of condensed water.

"There it is! Our first elimination of the game coming from Ash of Kalos!" Mr. Simmons declared, and the crowd erupted into cheers. "That puts Kalos in first place at one point"

"At least we're not in last" Zack muttered

"Competitors will have to remember that stamina is also important, considering that they can only use one Pokemon" Flint reminded

"Speaking of stamina, here comes Jasper from Hoenn to challenge Ash right after his previous battle!" Mr. Simmons pointed out

"You've got to be kidding me!" Gary complained

Jasper's Pokemon, a Tyranitar, fired a Hyper Beam at Greninja, which was easily dodged by jumping up and sticking to the side of a nearby building.

"Use Dark Pulse!" Jasper commanded - he was boy around Ash's age, with an green shirt, blue shorts, and black hair

"Stop that with Cut, and then use Aerial Ace!" Ash said

Tyranitar fired another quick Dark Pulse, but Greninja sliced through it with Cut, causing it to dissipate into particles; Greninja dashed forward and hit the enemy Pokemon in the chest, sending him back.

"Use Earthquake!" Jasper said

The ground began to shake heavily and crack, as Tyranitar stomped around. Ash grinned, and Greninja already knew what to do - it conjured up a large Water Shuriken, and then stabbed it down into the ground, sending a heavy pressure of water that traveled through the cracks and hit Tyranitar.

"Now use Water Shuriken Plunge!" Ash commanded

Greninja lunged forward and then jumped into the air, slamming the water shuriken down onto Tyranitar's head; Tyranitar turned around and hit Greninja with Iron Tail, causing him to hit the ground and roll back to Ash's side.

"Hit him with Dark Pulse!" Jasper exclaimed

"Counter with Vanishing Slash" Ash said

Shooting another Dark Pulse, Tyranitar missed as Greninja disappeared into smoke.

"Use Iron Tail behind you! Quick!"

Reappearing with a water blade behind Tyranitar, Greninja ended up getting hit by Jasper's quick thinking skills and sent crashing into the ground a couple feet back.

"Now finish this with Stone Edge" Jasper said

"Will this be the end for Ash and Greninja, or will they manage a quick comeback?" Mr. Simmons said

Greninja struggled to get up as the columns of stone shot out of the ground, traveling towards him. The crowd and everyone watching were on edge as the columns got closer and closer, until a spiral of water shot out of Greninja, who jumped over the last column that was about to smash into him.

"Looks like Greninja's changed" Flint pointed out

"Ash-Greninja, as Bonnie calls it" Clemont said

"That'll be a serious help" Serena added

Running down the columns of stone, Greninja finished off Tyranitar with a powerful punch that sent him crashing into the wall of a building behind Ash.

"Ash defeats Jasper and earns another point!" the crowd erupted again

Brock defeated Maisy, and Kiawe defeated Barry, putting Alola and Kanto tied for second place, while Kalos remained in first. Elias ran around the city for a couple of minutes, until he ran into Ash and Greninja, who was still transformed.

"Garchomp use Dragon Pulse!" Elias commanded, but also giving some kind of eye-signal to his Pokemon

"Dodge that and use Aerial Ace!" Ash replied

Ash-Greninja jumped into the air ahead of the attack, but was caught off guard by Garchomp, who lunged after him and attacked with Dragon Claw, and then Dragon Pulse at pointblank range, midair, setting off a large explosion that covered them in smoke.

Garchomp backed out of the smoke unharmed, but Greninja stubbornly perused him, slamming a Water Pulse right into his face and sending him flying back.

"Water Jigsaw!" Ash continued

A column of water shot out of the ground, carrying Garchomp with it, and curved down, slamming the Pokemon into the concrete again. Greninja charged up one last Water Shuriken and fired it at Garchomp, who was still on the ground, finishing the battle off.

"Unbelievable! Ash defeats Elias and earns Kalos their third point!" Mr. Simmons said, setting off the crowd again

"Now all he has to do is defeat the winner of the ongoing battle in order to earn six more points" Flint added

Kiawe had engaged Brock in a battle - Charizard against Steelix - and Ash was on his way to the battle, though he had no idea where it was.

"Charizard use Fire Punch!" Kiawe commanded

"Dodge it Steelix!" Brock attempted

Charizard zipped through the air, its fist ignited with flames; Steelix attempted to move out of the way, but was too slow, and ended up getting hit hard with Fire Punch. The battle went on for a couple of minutes until, miraculously, Ash came across the battle, with Greninja by his side.

"Ash has entered the battle! Our last three competitors have all gathered in one area, and are about to fight it out for the victory points"

"Charizard, use Dragon Claw on Greninja!" Kiawe said

"Greninja, Vanishing Slash!" Ash instructed

"Steelix, Hyper Beam on Charizard!" Brock pointed ahead of him

Greninja disagreed into smoke just before it could be hit by Charizard, who was instead hit by Steelix's Hyper Beam, setting off an explosion that swallowed up the Pokemon in smoke. Steelix was hit from the back by Greninja, who reappeared and struck him twice with a water blade. Then, Greninja was hit by a Flamethrower that erupted out of the smoke; Steelix used Iron Tail, smacking Ash's Pokemon into Charizard.

"Use Hyper Beam again!" Brock quickly commanded

Steelix shot another powerful Hyper Beam, hitting both Charizard and Greninja, and setting off another explosion. The crowd waited tensely for the smoke to clear - when it did, Ash-Greninja had fainted, but Charizard was still up.

"And Kalos is out of the competition" Mr. Simmons said. "However, Ash gained them three points, putting them in at least the top three"

Suddenly, Charizard delivered the final blow to Steelix - another massive Fire Punch to the face. The crowed erupted in cheers, as the scoreboard was displayed: Alola in the first place with seven points, Kalos in second with three, Kanto in third with two, and the other regions tied for last.

"Second place, not bad" Tierno said

"Yeah, but he could have done better" Gary claimed, earning a sigh from everyone else

"He battled the most by far, I'm proud of him" Serena said

"Now let's see who's battling today" Professor Sycamore pointed to the screen, which now displayed the matchups - Zack Vs Drax, Misty Vs Reinhart, Gou Vs Calvin, Drew Vs Paul

"Look's like Zack is up against Drax, the dark-type master" Professor Sycamore said

"But bug-type moves are super-effective of dark-type ones, right?" Gary replied

"That doesn't matter" Zack said. "When two masters battle, the types are instantly cancelled out, and are considered neutral"

"I heard Drax was extremely powerful" Anna informed. "His main Pokemon is a black Greninja, who focuses more on his dark-typing than his water-typing"

**Ash **

"Congrats on second place" Koharu said as she approached

"Oh, thanks" I replied. "I guess I costed you guys some points by taking you out"

"It's fine" She shook her head. "It was fair game after all, and not to mention, I attacked first"

"Looks like one of your teammates are going against someone from Unova, maybe you've got a shot there" I said

"We should be able to win that one" She smiled. "Gou's a type-master like you are, after all"

"He is?" I went through each type in my head, and there were only three that I didn't know of

"Well, not in the same sense as you" She clarified. "You see, he's the poison-type slayer that specializes in ground-types"

"A type-slayer, huh?"

_"Wherever there is good, there's evil. I'm surprised you didn't know. Each type has slayers for each type that's effective against it" _Winchester had told him

"He isn't evil or anything, right?" I said

Koharu giggled. "No, he's a normal boy like you are. Well, mostly anyway..."

"Mostly?"

"His goal is to catch every Pokemon in the Pokedex, including the Mythical Pokemon, Mew" She explained

"I was like that at one point too, but then I realized it would be pointless" I replied

Workers came down and signaled to us that transportation was here to take us back to the Arena, and everyone started heading over.

"I guess I'll see you around then, Ash" Koharu said, a hint of disappointment in her voice

"Yeah, see you"


	34. Chapter Eight: Fallen Angel

**Ash**

**"Starting** **off** **the** **first** **official** **battle** **of** **the** **tournament,**" Mr. Simmons announced, "Is Zack of Kalos against Drax Bautista of Johto!"

The crowd cheered for the competitors as they exited the hallway and into the large battlefield - a circular one that had an area of at least ten times that of an average field, and made of super-hard sandstone.

"What a way to start off the tournament battles than a fight between two type-masters" Mr. Simmons added

Drax was a man in his late-twenties, with dark-black hair, and a black robe around him that had teeth on the shoulders; his appearance was a big contrast to Zack, who wore his orange robe, and had light-green hair and blue eyes.

"You're a colorful one, aren't you?" Drax said - his voice was a deep and rough as they could get

"Whatever" Zack dismissed

"This will be a one-on-one Pokemon battle" The ref began to state the rules. "Once a Pokemon is unable to continue battling, the other Pokemon and their trainer will be declared the victor, earning their team five points"

The two trainers released their Pokemon - a Scizor, and a black Greninja - and awaited the ref to call for the battle to begin.

"I can feel that Greninja's presence from all the way up here" I said

"It must be a real powerful Pokemon, but Zack isn't a pushover either" Calem replied

"Battle begin!"

The crowd quieted down as the ref declared the battle to begin, but neither trainer was making the first move.

"Fine" Drax gave in. "Greninja, use Dark Shuriken!"

Greninja - Gary had pointed out that this was it's shiny counterpart - raised its arm into the air, and conjured up a shuriken made of pure dark energy.

"Use Hyper Roar!" Zack commanded

White particles of energy gathered around Scizor as it fired a column of white energy from its mouth; Greninja jumped into the air, avoiding the attack and firing the shuriken; Scizor narrowly dodged the shuriken, which passed by inches away from it.

Then, Greninja lunged forward, but transformed into a shadow on the ground that slithered to the other side of the battlefield, where Greninja returned to normal and hit Scizor with a hard uppercut.

"Use Rocket Punch!" Zack said

Scizor rushed at Greninja, who transformed into a shadow again, causing the Pokemon to smash its fist into the ground instead; Greninja reappeared again, landing a clean slash to the back of the enemy Pokemon.

"Use Dark Roar" Drax said

Letting loose a dark column of energy from its mouth, Greninja left Scizor unable to dodge with the quick-firing attack, sending the Pokemon crashing into the wall behind Drax with a pointblank attack.

"Greninja's super fast" Trevor pointed out

"Looks like he can turn into a shadow to not only avoid attacks, but to get around quickly" Clemont figured

"Scizor, Secret Art: Acid Rain!" Zack said

A dark cloud appeared above the battlefield, casting a shadow upon every square-inch; the cloud began to bubble up, with a green tint of highlighting.

"He's going with an omnidirectional attack" Sawyer said

"That should do some damage" I guessed

Then, green rain began to spray down onto the battlefield in mass amounts; Greninja transformed into a shadow again, and began to zip through every small gap in between the rain droplets. When the rain finished, Greninja had successfully avoided the rain and was slithering towards Scizor, while still a shadow.

Greninja jumped out of the shadow in the ground and went for a punch to the enemy's face, but had his fist caught by Scizor, who spun and tossed him back, before lunging and rocking him in the gut, sending him crashing into the nearest wall.

"What an amazing counterattacks from Scizor!" Mr. Simmons exclaimed, and the crowd cheered as Greninja pushed off the wall to recover

The two Pokemon lunged at each other and clashed, claws against fists, until Greninja landed a hard punch to Scizor. Then, he transformed into a shadow and slithered behind him, where he returned to normal and kicked him forward again; a cycle began of Greninja turning into a shadow and hitting Scizor before he could react, and the process went on as Zack was helpless to do anything.

"Looks like Greninja is leaving Scizor with no way out of his combo" Mr. Simmons said

"Zack will have to come up with a quick solution, or the fight's going to be over" Flint added

"This isn't good, Scizor can't fend off against Greninja's shadow abilities" Serena said

Finally, Greninja came to a stop and retreated back to the other side of the battlefield, allowing Scizor to catch its breath.

"We're going to finish this battle, I'm bored" Drax said, the ground beginning to shake heavily. "Secret God Art: Fields of Chaos!"

A dark aura appeared around Greninja, as the sun retreated into the dark clouds, making it nighttime; the ground became pure-black and holes were dug into the ground, where skeletal arms began to reach out.

"Now's our chance, Scizor! Take in the darkness!" Zack instructed

"What's he planning to do?" Sawyer questioned

"He's going to try and obtain a mixed-element form like Jason's Electric-Flame mode" Anna explained. "It'll be risky, but it could pay off"

Scizor flew up into the air, but blanks bands of shadow rose up from the ground and strapped around him, squeezing him tightly. Zack pulled out a shiny stone from his pock it and made a fist around it; light began to connect from Scizor and the stone, and in moments, Scizor had Mega Evolved.

"Looks like Scizor's Mega Evolved" Cynthia said

"This must be the comeback Zack is hoping for" Flint said

Through its claws, which now looked like sharp staplers, Mega Scizor began to absorb the darkness, which flowed around him, turning his color from red to black, and his eyes from blue to red; using his strength, he freed himself from the bands and landed back onto the ground.

"Mega Bug-Shadow Mode!" Zack said, and the crowd erupted into large cheers again

An aura exploded out of Scizor as its transformation finished; the shadows retreated, and the battlefield returned to normal, along with the sun, which came back out, casting daytime again.

"That's impressive, but it still won't be enough" Drax said. "Greninja, Shadow Slash!"

Greninja dashed forward, transforming into a shadow halfway, and slithering the rest of the distance; Scizor lunged, retreating into a shadow as well. The shadows met in the center of the battlefield, and Scizor's shadow struck Greninja's, forcing him back to normal.

Scizor jumped out of his shadow and, midair, hit Greninja again with a hard uppercut; Greninja landed on the ground in front of his trainer, but got back up.

"Look's like Zack is finally able to fight back" I said

"Bug-Shadow Mode sure is a real help" Serena agreed

Down on the battlefield, a dark aura flowed around Greninja.

"Since you've come this far, I'll give you a little treat" Drax decided. "Greninja, Change Mode: Wings of Darkness!"

From the aura around Greninja, wings conjured from shadow spread out, attached to his back, making the Pokemon look like a fallen angel. Gauntlets and a chest plate from shadows appeared as well, acting as armor.

"Dark Wing Slash!" Drax resumed the battle

"Dodge and use Dark Hyper Roar!" Zack said

Greninja lunged forward rapidly, slashing its wing at Scizor, who dodged and flew up into the sky, firing a column of dark energy from its claw, hitting Greninja and igniting an explosion. Seconds later, Greninja erupted from the smoke and flew up into the air using its wings, hitting Scizor straight in the gut with a hard punch.

In return, Scizor used its claw and grabbed onto Greninja's wrist; he flew down to the circular walls of the battlefield, and flew across it, dragging Greninja across the walls in a full circle before letting go.

"Secret Art: Fallen Arrow!" Drax commanded

Shadows created a bow and arrow in Greninja's hands, and he aimed them carelessly, firing the arrow at Scizor, who easily dodged it. However, the arrow seemingly bounced off nothing, and redirected itself, piercing straight through Scizor.

"Secret Art: Oblivion Wings!" Drax continued

Two dark circles of energy appeared in the air in front of each of Greninja's wings; out of the circles, two columns of energy shot out, hitting Scizor before it could recover and setting off a massive explosion that consumed most of the battlefield in smoke.

"I'll admit, it was a fun battle," Drax said, "but you still couldn't measure up, master of bugs"

The smoke cleared and Scizor dropped to the ground, swirls in its eye as it returned to normal - normal Scizor looked massively different than the transformation he had just been in.

"Scizor is unable to battle, the winner is Greninja! Therefore, the victor is Drax of Johto!" the ref declared, and the crowd cheered once more

"That's five points for Johto, putting them in second place!" Mr. Simmons said

"Well, it was a good try" Gary admitted

"It's going to be hard to beat the intenseness of that battle" Tierno said

**.**

"For our second battle, we'll be having Misty from Kanto, against Reinhart from Alola!" Mr. Simmons said

"If Alola wins this, then they'll be in first place for the first day of the tournament" Cynthia pointed out

Down on the battlefield, the two competitors exited the hallway and entered. Misty was wearing her usual getup, but was interested me was Reinhart - a big, burly man, who wore clothes that contrasted his build: blue shorts, and a flower-patterned yellow shirt. He wore a grin on his face, and he waved at the crowd, which cheered at his sight.

"Are we suppose to know who this guy is?" Gary asked

"Reinhart is the rock-type master, and pretty much the strongest battler in Alola" Anna answered. "He's also an international celebrity"

The ref stated the rules again, and both trainers brought out their Pokemon - Misty's being a Gyarados; Reinhart's being a Rhyperior.

"Battle begin!"

"Gyarados, use Hydro Pump!" Misty began

"Rhyperior, use Rocky Vambrace!" Reinhart countered

Gyarados roared loudly, before releasing a column of water; Rhyperior aimed one of its arms, which fired a large rock out of the hole. The hole zipped through the air, going straight through Hydro Pump and hitting Gyarados in the face, where it exploded into dust that also blinded the Pokemon.

"Use Dragon Tail right in front of you!" Misty acknowledged her Pokemon's lack of vision

"Block that with Shield, and then counter with Pillar Maze!" Reinhart said

Still blinded, Gyarados turned around and swung its tail, but a large wall, made out of the same material as the ground, erupted from below in front of Rhyperior, hard enough to deflect the attack. Then, pillars of rocks shot out of the ground, wrapping around Gyarados and holding it in place.

"Now use Earth Roar!"

Rhyperior shot a column of energy, colored like the Earth's ground, from its mouth that hit Gyarados, who attacked back with Dragon Pulse, which hit Rhyperior in return. An explosion was set off on both Pokemon, and the viewers were left with no angle on them.

"Secret Art: Cavern Dragon!" Reinhart commanded

The ground shook heavily, as an artificial Onix, made from pure rocks, shot out of the ground - It was much taller than a real Onix - and it curved down, biting onto Gyarados and pinning it to the ground before exploding, consequently sending rocks raining down from the sky, all of which hit Gyarados.

Slowly, but surely, Gyarados got back up, a determined look on its face as it shook all of the dust on its body off.

"I admire your persistence, but this battle has already been won" Reinhart said. "Rhyperior, use Cavern Smash!"

"Stop that by using Hydro Pump on the ground!" Misty countered

Rhyperior smashed both of its arms into the ground, sending a shockwave out, as waves of the ground traveled towards Gyarados, who shot a Hydro Pump beneath it, setting off an explosion and stopping the waves.

Gyarados then went in for another Dragon Tail, but it was deflected as another wall made from the ground shot up and protected Rhyperior, who proceeded to finish the battle with another Earth Roar.

"Gyarados is unable to battle, the winner is Rhyperior! Which means that Reinhart of Alola is the victor!"

The crowd exploded into cheers, more than it ever had before, and the scoreboard was updated, with Alola at twelve points - way ahead of everyone else - and Kanto remaining at two.

"Rhyperior didn't even move from its spot in the entirety of the battle" Serena said

"Rock-type Hidden Arts can be used like that" Zack replied

"For our next battle, we have Gou of Galar going against Calvin of Unova!"


	35. Chapter Nine: Sharp Twist

**Ash**

**The** **first** **day** **of** **the** **tournament** **hadn't** **gone** **the** **way** I had wanted it to, but I knew that judging the final result just based off the first day wouldn't be right. The tournament had ended a few hours ago, and our entire team - including Zack, who was finally being more sociable - was gathered for dinner.

"What are you thinking so hard about?" Serena asked

"It's probably about our placement in the tournament" Gary guessed. "Sure we're in third, but there's three teams tied for second place"

"At least we have points" Tierno pointed out. "Unova and Hoenn haven't gotten any yet, and Kanto is behind us with only two"

"That's because Calvin got beat by Gou pretty badly, and Drew lost again Paul" I said. "Not to mention, Kanto hasn't been able to use Leo and Victor yet"

"The twin masters" Anna mumbled. "They're supposedly the best tag-team in the world"

"We have serious competition in this tournament" Zack said. "Reinhart, Drax, Victor, Leo, and Gou will all be problems to face"

Out of everyone listed, he said Drax's name with a certain sense of hate; I could understand why, after all, he had lost the fight pretty badly, even after doing everything in his power and getting mocked in the process.

"Galar also has the flying-type master, Aero" Clemont said. "I haven't heard anything about him, but that's not to underestimate him"

"There's also Dawn too. Paul said that she was Sinnoh's strongest battler, and I don't doubt it based off the presence she gave off at the party" Serena added

"It makes me wonder what kind of training she went to go so strong so fast" I said

"She probably just went up to a mountain where it was snowing and did some intense stuff" Gary shrugged

The double-doors to the inn opened up, and Professor Sycamore, followed by Jason - this time around, he wore a fiery-red robe that was orange at the cutoff - walked in.

"Hello there everyone" Sycamore greeted. "I just wanted to let you all know, that tomorrow there will be the first tag-team battle, so we'll have to choose who's going"

"It's not only going to be about power, but teamwork too" Trevor said

Gary raised his hand. "Aren't we allowed three sub-ins from non-members? We could just get Jason and Anna for a tag-team, and get a guaranteed win"

"As much as I'd like to fight some powerful opponents, I don't have my power anymore" Jason revealed, shocking us all; he had said it so casually too

"What do you mean you don't have your power?" Sawyer inquired

"The truth is, ever since my last battle against Ash, I've been unable to use Hidden Arts" He admitted, shrugging nonchalantly

"How is that even possible?" Calem questioned. "As far as I know, you don't just suddenly stop being able to use them"

"I'm not sure myself, but if I had to guess, it would have to be some kind of divine punishment" He guessed. "Either way, I came here to talk to Ash about something important"

**.**

By now, the sun had fallen behind the hills, and the stars glittered in the night sky. Faint thunderclouds floated up above, threatening to zap any brave souls. Jason and I were on the roof of the inn, or in other words: on top of the room connected to the balcony where we reside in the tournament, watching the battles.

"So what's so important you needed me for?" I asked

"You've seen the mark on Serena's hand, right?"

"Yeah. Something about a fairy giving it to her" I recalled

"That mark is a one-way ticket to Fairy Spear, a Godly Art, and one of the seven sacred ones at that" He explained

"Now there's sacred ones?"

"There's seven Sacred Arts: God Sleeper, Fairy Spear, Stardust Breaker, Heaven's Ascent, Seal of God, Soul Punisher, and the Crimson Shield of Azazel"

"So Fairy Spear is one of them, huh?"

"Like I said, you've only got one shot at using it," Jason said, "so don't you think about using it during the tournament, because you'll need it later"

"I feel like I'm asking a lot of questions, but what do you mean by later?"

"X is alive, and he's the one behind the Gates of Purgatory" Jason informed, and I inhaled sharply at the thought. "You've already met two of the gates: Sabrina and Winchester. There's five other ones: fire, water, fairy, electric, and bug-type slayers. Usually when two Hidden Arts users battle, types are neutral, but they don't abide by those rules"

"One of the competitors from Galar, Gou, claimed to be a poison-type slayer who works with ground-types" I said

"Yes, I watched the battle and I could tell it's true. Type slayers are naturally more powerful, and are extremely deadly against the types they're made to counter"

"I thought type slayers were suppose to be evil though"

"For whatever reason, Sabrina's evil, which means that the poison-type slayers would be good"

"Oh, I get it now"

There was an indomitable silence as a shooting star passed by in the sky, sparkling brightly before fading away; the shooting star reminded me of all the fun times I had with Serena ever since I got to Kalos, and I knew that I would want her by my side, especially now.

"That's all I wanted to say for now" Jason said. "Get stronger through this tournament, Ash. Next time we meet, things won't be so good"

**.**

"Did you guys figure out our tag-team yet?" I walked down the stairs and entered the dining room again

"Not yet" Calem shook his head

"In that case, I have a pretty good suggestion" I said, gaining everyone's attention. "Serena and I can tag-team this one. I'd say we would make a pretty good team"

"But I can barely use Hidden Arts" Serena replied. "I would only hold you back. You and Gary should team up for this one"

"Nah. I have a feeling that you and Ash would make a pretty strong team. Sure, Ash and I have done a lot of tag-team battles, but it might not be enough" Gary said

"So what do you say, Serena? Would you mind teaming up with me?" I asked

"Of course not" She smiled back

"Well then it's settled" Sycamore said. "I'll tell the officials. For now, get some rest. I heard that tomorrow's mini-game will be real interesting for whoever is chosen"

"I hope we're not playing Pandemonium," Gary sighed, "I hate that game"

**February** **6th** **/** **Day** **2**

"Welcome back everyone, to the second day of the Grand Regional Tournament!" Mr. Simmons said, and the crowd cheered. "Today's mini-game will be Pandemonium! Each challenger will choose, from zero to one-hundred, how many Pokemon they want to challenge. Ten Pokemon defeated will be one points, and additionally, all Pokemon will be ghost-types

Our competitors go as follows: Victor from Kanto, Shaun from Johto, May from Hoenn, Clarisse from Sinnoh, Trip from Unova, Gary from Kalos, Mallow from Alola, and Aero from Galar"

It was also important to mention that Kalos's Champion Diantha and Malva, one of the elite four, would be commentating today.

"So May's here, huh?" I said under my breath

"Do you know her?" Serena asked

"I travelled with her, Brock, and her little brother in Hoenn" I answered

"This is just my luck!" Gary exclaimed. "I should have kept my mouth shut last night, and now, whatever forces compel this tournament have damned me to play this game"

"What? Are you afraid of ghosts are something?" Zack replied

"I am not!" Gary retorted. "I-It's just... just... ok, so what if I am?"

"What's with all the noise?"

From the hallway connected to the balcony, Professor Sycamore entered, followed by Shauna, Miette, and Aria, the Kalos Queen.

"You're here, Aria?" Serena said

"That's right. I thought I would come and support my region after all" She replied

"Someone doesn't want to play Pandemonium" Zack told Miette, who had asked

"If only substitutions were allowed for the mini-games" Gary muttered miserably

"I'm sure you'll be fine. After all, what's the worst that could happen?" Shauna pointed out

"Don't tell me you're going to wuss out and choose only ten ghost-types to battle" Miette taunted

Gary exhaled nervously. "Fine. I'm going to challenge eighty of them, and earn of us eight points"

"That's more like it" Shauna smiled

"Isn't that kind of impossible?" Serena said

"Unbelievable! Both Victor and Aero will be challenging one-hundred ghost-types!" Mr. Simmons announced, and the crowd exploded into cheers

"Oh come on. Fate really hates me, doesn't it?" Gary complained

"Well, Victor's the ghost-type masters, so I didn't expect anything less" Sawyer said. "Aero on the other hand, he's the flying-type master, which means he must be really good with omnidirectional attacks"

After each competitors announced how many they would be challenging, the games began, with Victor, Kanto's ghost-type master - and one of the twins - starting off first; he wore a grey robe, with a darker shade of the color cape.

"You can release all one-hundred at once, that's fine by me" Victor said

"A-Are you sure?" Mr. Simmons. "They would hardly fit in the arena all at once, despite its size"

Victor nodded, releasing his Pokemon: one that I had never seen before. Using the Pokedex, I scanned it. "Dragapult, the Stealth Pokemon. When it isn't battling, it keeps Dreepy, its first stage evolution, in the holes on its horns. Once a fight starts, it launches them out like supersonic missiles"

"Strange. That's a Pokemon from Galar" Sawyer said

"In that case, let the match begin!"

From the lower walls of the battlefield, holes opened up, and a massive crowd of ghost-type Pokemon began to pour in like crazy.

"I'll finish this with one move" Victor said, sounding bored. "Secret Art: Take Over!"

The ground began to shake heavily as Dragapult flew up into the sky, its eyes glowing a bright shade of gray. In an instant, all of the ghost-type Pokemon began to faint, dropping down like flies.

"In one single attack, all of the Pokemon have fainted!" Mr. Simmons announced in shock; the crowd didn't even cheer, as they were also too surprise to say anything

"No, it looks like one lonely Pokemon survived" Victor narrowed his eyes at the Gengar in the center of the battlefield, standing in the middle of ninety-nine other fainted Pokemon. "Dragapult, Ghostly Roar"

Grey, almost transparent, particles charged up around Dragapult, who fired a column of gray energy that hit the Gengar, crashing him against the wall and taking him out in one hit.

"Victor has taken out one-hundred ghost-type Pokemon, earning Kanto ten points!" Mr. Simmons said, and the crowd cheered loudly

"I'm going to head to the cafeteria, I'm still hungry" I said

"Okay then. I'll come and get you before Gary goes up" Serena replied

"Sounds good to me. I can't miss out on that, can I?"

"It'll be quite the show" She agreed, leaning in to give me a quick kiss on the lips before I headed out

"Hey! No PDA!" Gary said

"Shut it Gary" Shauna and Miette replied in sync

Down in the cafeteria, I could still hear the announcements, and Shaun from Johto was going up against forty Pokemon - If you failed to defeat all of the Pokemon you chose to challenge, you would get zero points.

"Hey, Ash!" Koharu called out, walking over

"Oh, hey Koharu. Nice to see you again" I said

"Likewise. What are you doing out here though?"

"I was just hungry. What about you? I guess I could ask the same thing"

"Well, the truth is that I saw you leave the balcony, so I thought I would come and say hi" She explained. "But I've been meaning to ask: what's that transformation of yours with Greninja?"

"It's called Bond Phenomenon. There isn't that much known about it, but it's apparently the seventh stage of evolution" I answered

"I'm aware that there was six, but I had no idea there was seven" Koharu said. "My dad's the top professor in Galar, and even I've never heard of that"

"It was my first time hearing about it too. To be honest, I have no idea how I activated such a rare ability" I replied

"Obviously, it has something to do with you being the water-type master," Koharu pointed out, "but then, how come they all can't do that"

We stayed talking for only Arceus knows how long, until I heard the announcement that Trip - he had been my rival in Unova - had defeated thirty Pokemon, earning Unova three points, which meant that Gary would be next, and that Serena would be coming to get me soon.

"I should get going now. Gary's about to go and face his fears, and I can't miss out on that" I said

"Oh, right"

I stood up from the table we had been sitting and started to head back, when she called out my name again.

"Before you go, I feel like I should tell you something"

"Alright. What is it?"

"I don't really know how to put into words though..." She blushed

"Uh, I think I'm totally lost"

And then, she kissed me, right on the lips.


	36. Chapter Ten: Secret Weapon

**Gary **

**"Take that, suckers!" **I shouted at the top of my lungs. "I would totally call you something worse if this wasn't kid-friendly!"

"Gary Oak of Kalos has defeated eighty ghost-type Pokemon! That earns them eight points, placing them at eleven total" Mr. Simmons said

I shot a thumbs-up at Shauna on the others up on the balcony, and they cheered in response; I returned Blastoise, and made way through the hallway, and back up to where they were.

"Great job, Gary! I knew you could do it" Shauna said, giving me an unexpected kiss on the cheek

"Oh, right. T-Thanks" I struggled to get words out of my mouth

"What happened to no PDA?" Miette taunted. "Are you really that much of a hypocrite, professor?"

"Hey, this is different. I deserved that" I said

"Whatever you say, Oak Tree" Miette dismissed

**.**

"Before we begin the tag-team matches, let's take a look at the scoreboard" Mr. Simmons said. "Still in first place is Alola, with seventeen points, followed by Galar with fifteen, Kanto with twelve, Kalos with eleven, Sinnoh with eight, Johto with seven, and Hoenn and Unova both having four"

"We're still in fourth place, but if we win, that could be a serious help" Sawyer said

"Tag-team matches are worth seven points for a win, and if you lose, it's minus two points" Sycamore explained

"That means we can't afford to lose" Zack said. "Where is Serena, anyway?"

"I'm not sure" Ash responded

"What do you mean you aren't sure? Didn't she go and get you?" Calem asked. "I thought she went to the bathroom or something"

"She never came back after leaving to get Ash, that's all I know" Shauna said

"Up first in our tag-team battles will be Kalos against Sinnoh!" Mr. Simmons announced

"Just our luck" I grumbled. "We've got exactly, like, two seconds to find her!"

"There isn't any time" Aria, who sat on the edge of the balcony with Miette, pointed down to the battlefield, where Dawn and Kenny from Sinnoh appeared

"I'm going to call in our substitute and inform the officials" Sycamore said, tapping around on his communicator

"We've got a substitute?" We all inquired

"I've just been informed that Kalos is sending in a subtitle, which means that this will be a two-on-one battle!" Mr. Simmons revealed, and the crowd gasped

"Two on one? How's that fair!" I exclaimed

"That's the rules of a substitution during tag-team battles" Sycamore replied

"Whoever you got, I hope they better be strong, because they're going up against Sinnoh's strongest, and her boyfriend" Zack said

We and the crowd waited tensely for our substitute to appear, and moments later, footsteps came from inside the hallway; a white-robed figure, with five staffs on their back walked onto the battlefield.

"Hold on? Is that Jason?" I said, and on cue, the figure lowered down their hood and confirmed my guess

"He's our substitution? I thought he lost his power" Anna said. "He doesn't stand a chance without it"

He turned to face us, and I winced; bandages covered his eyes, as if he had just gone through some kind of eye surgery.

"And what's with the bandages?" Aria asked

Professor Sycamore exhaled shakily. "Let's just say that he sacrificed both of his eyes for his power back"

"What?!" We all said

"I think I'm going to be sick" Sawyer had his hand over his mouth

"That's totally messed up" Tierno agreed in the same position

"Besides the fact that it's totally creepy, how is he going to battle blind?" I pointed out

"I suppose he intends to finish it one attack" Sycamore guessed

The referee stated the rules to the battle, meanwhile Professor Sycamore was getting bombarded with a bunch of questions on the situation.

"I don't know the specifics, but I do know that he truly did lose his eyes for power" Sycamore explained

"Trainers, bring out your Pokemon" the ref requested

"It's show time, Abomasnow" Dawn released her Pokemon

"Go time, Charizard" Kenny tossed up his Pokeball

Jason removed one of his staffs and thrusted it into the ground, calling out his own Charizard, who roared loudly upon his release.

"Let the battle begin!" the ref declared

"You don't mean to tell me that you're going to battle us blind, right?" Kenny asked

"I won't need my eyes to beat the likes of you" Jason replied

"If only you could see who you were up against" Kenny shrugged. "You can't win a two-one-one blind, especially since your up against Dawn and I"

"So I'm up against the ice-type master then" Jason said. "This'll be interesting"

"We'll let you have the first move then" Dawn offered

The arena began to shake heavily as a bright glow surrounded Charizard; he transformed into his fifth stage evolution: Advanced Mega Evolution, which made him look like Mega Charizard Y, but with additional features like the golden chains of fire that flowed out the sides of his mouth.

"Sacred Art: Stardust Breaker!" Jason commanded

Multi-colored particles appeared around Charizard as something charged up inside of his mouth; then he released a column of rainbow-colored energy; Abomasnow and Charizard barely missed the quick attack. Stardust Breaker hit the glass barrier protecting the crowd, reducing it to atoms in an instant.

"The attack shattered the protective barrier! That surely would have taken out both Pokemon in one attack if it had landed" Mr. Simmons said, as a new layer was put up automatically

"Technology sure is great" I said

Dawn and Kenny looked shocked, but they regained their composure, confident expressions appearing on their faces.

"Good luck fighting blind now. Charizard, use Flamethrower!" Kenny commanded

Kenny's Charizard flew up into the air and fired a Flamethrower at Jason's, setting off an explosion against it.

"That should do it" Kenny said

Then, the smoke instantly cleared as Charizard began to consume the flames, confusing everyone in the crowd and putting confused looks on the competitor's faces.

"My name's Jason, the fire-type master, and I'm going to blow you pieces, blind or not" He said. "Charizard, Electric-Flame Mode!"

Electricity exploded out of Charizard; it circulated around his aura, sparking violently, with some of it spreading around the battlefield.

"Charizard, use Thunder Punch!" Kenny said

"I'd like to fight the ice-type master in a one-on-one, which means I'll have to get rid of you" Jason said. "Charizard, use Dragon Fist!"

The two Charizard charged at each other, their fists clashing in the center of the battlefield. However, in mere seconds, Mega Charizard over powered its opponent and sent him crashing against the barrier, before releasing an electrified Flamethrower that ignited a large explosion.

When the smoke cleared, Charizard had already fainted, and a surprised Kenny returned his Pokemon.

"It's now a one-on-one between the fire and ice-type masters" Champion Diantha pointed out, and the crowd cheered for the exciting matchup

"My ice will just have to freeze your flames" Dawn said. "Abomasnow, use Icy Roar!"

"Charizard, Burning-Thunder Roar" Jason countered

The temperature dropped noticeably, making it go from a perfectly warm day, to a freezing one; an aura of ice flowed around Abomasnow, as it shot a column of icy energy from its mouth. In response, Charizard fired its attack from before, and the two clashed in the center of the battlefield.

"The temperature is going crazy" Sawyer said

"Tell me about it. One second it's hot, and the next it's freezing" I agreed

Charizard's roar overpowered Abomasnow's, setting off an explosion against it.

"I didn't want to have to pull out my trump card already, but it looks like I'll have to" Dawn said. "Godly Art: Absolute Zero!"

A blizzard shot out of Abomasnow, clearing all of the smoke; ice inched out, covering the ground, with a thin layer of it covering the protective field, which made it harder to see the inside.

"Holy Arceus it's cold" I said

"It's below zero" Clemont shivered

"Jason better amp up the heat or I'm going to get a serious case of frostbite" Anna said

"You've trained for two years and can use a Godly Art, that's interesting" Jason admitted. "How'd you do it?"

"Non-stop training in the freezing cold" Dawn answered. "I don't like to brag about it, but I was also a natural at it, as if it was my destiny all along"

"You've still yet to reach your full potential though. For a godly art, this coldness is a bit underwhelming" Jason replied

"Uh, are you sure about that?" Dawn pointed up to us

"He's blind, you idiot!" I shouted in frustration

"Hey, calm down" Ash scowled

"Charizard" Jason instructed

Letting loose his aura, Charizard melted all of the ice and returned the temperature back to normal, earning one big sigh from literally everyone watching the battle.

"Oh, sun! How much I missed your heat!" I said

"You're so overdramatic" Miette sighed

"There's no way you can win, which means Charizard is going to finish this now" Jason announced. "Burning-Thunder Fist!"

"Block that with Ice Shield!" Dawn commanded

Charizard lunged forward, its fist radiating with fire and electricity; a shield of ice appeared in front of Abomasnow, but Charizard smashed straight through it, hitting the enemy Pokemon and finishing him off.

"Abomasnow and Charizard are both unable to battle, which means Kalos is the victor of this match!" the ref declared, and the crowd cheered

"That's seven points for us, putting us at first place for now" Malva said

"Would you look at that, the blind dude actually won the two-on-one battle" I said, before muttering under my breath: "suck it, Elsa"

"Hey, has anyone seen Ash?" Sawyer asked

"I guess he must have went to go look for Serena" Miette assumed

**Ash**

The floorboard of the inn creaked as I made my way through the hallway, stopping at Serena's door, where I found her sitting on her bed, hugging her knees; when she spotted me, she turned away towards the window.

"Serena?"

There was no response for a couple of moments. "I saw what happened earlier... at the cafeteria"

"Oh, that" I chuckled lightly as I walked over to the bed. "What about it? Do you really think I would cheat on you?"

"You mean, she didn't know?"

"I guess not. I should have told her, which means it's still my fault" I said

"No, I should have trusted you" Her voice quivered. "Now I cost us the match, I'm sorry. It's all my fault"

"It's fine, Serena. Besides, we won anyway"

"W-We won?" She asked, turning back to face me. "How? Did you manage to beat them by yourself?"

"I wasn't the one who beat them alone, but we won, that's all that matters" I said. "Let's just forget about this, alright? It's either neither of our faults or mine"

"You don't have to be so humble, Ash. Let's just say it was neither of our faults"

"If you say so" I agreed, sitting down next to her on the bed. "You want go back now?"

"I want to stay here for a little bit" She said, leaning her head on my shoulder. "Tell me though, how did we win?"

"The professor used up one of our substitutions" I explained

"But in the rules it says that one person would only be able to substitute for a tag-team match, which means your telling me one person beat Dawn and her partner..."

"Yeah, it was Jason"

"Huh?" She looked up at me. "Normally I might have only been a little bit surprised, but I thought he had lost his powers?"

"I don't know the specifics, I wasn't really paying attention" I replied

"Oh"

We stayed in same position for what seemed like forever, but it didn't bother me, because it felt nice, comfortable, and natural. Out of nowhere, she turned around and kissed me on the lips like she never had before; I returned it back, and before I knew it, one kiss turned into multiple.

"Well, I'm not surprised" a voice said at the doorway, and we quickly broke apart. "I figured I should stop you before our rating passed E-for-everyone"

"What?" We both asked

"Nothing, it's an inside joke" Jason muttered. "It's time to go back. We don't need little Ash and Serena's yet, though that's an interesting thought when I think about it"

Serena and I's faces instantly went red, and we looked away from each other, but got up anyway; we followed him all the way up to the balcony, where our friends were watching the matches - that walk had to have been one of the most awkward moments of my life.

"Hey guys" Serena greeted

"There you are" Miette responded. "We thought you fell into the abyss or something"

"Where were you anyway?" Gary questioned. "You totally could have costed us nine points if it weren't for Mr. Blind Man"

"Um... well... did you say blind man?" Serena said

"Oh dang. I totally let the blind one lead me here, my bad" I apologized

"That's right" Anna remembered. "There's no way you lost your eyes, so tell us the truth"

"No, I really did lose my eyes" Jason insisted, placing a hand on his bandages. "I traded them for my power back"

"But how are you able to see then?" Aria asked

"I can still see in other ways, though it's a bit hard to explain" Jason answered. "For a deal with the Devil, it wasn't that bad of a trade"

"Did it hurt? I might just do a trade with this Devil if it means getting some sick powers" Gary said

"Don't you even think about it, mister" Shauna warned

"It was easily the worst pain I ever felt, but I had a feeling you guys would need extra backup for what comes next" Jason said. "So far, I wasn't wrong"

Johto's duo defeated Galar's, putting them at fourteen points. We watched the rest of the matches, and Unova beat Alola to boost them up to eleven, while Hoenn beat Kanto, placing them at eleven points as well.

"Day two is officially over, so here are the results!"

Kanto: 10

Johto: 14

Hoenn: 11

Sinnoh: 6

Unova: 11

Kalos: 18

Alola: 15

Galar: 13

"First place! Take that ghost-types!" Gary exclaimed

"We'll have to keep this momentum in order to win" Professor Sycamore

"You can count on us" Zack said. "We won't loose"


	37. Chapter Eleven: Life or Death

**Narrator / 10pm **

**A massive explosion went off **as Inkay crashed into the ground at mach speed, having been hit by a Burning-Thunder Fist from an electricity-amped Mega Charizard. Pumpkaboo was next, landing on top of Inkay after being hit by the same move.

"Meowth, use Scratch!" James commanded in fear

"No way! That's like asking to die!" Meowth shook his head rapidly

"He completely annihilated our Pokemon in one hit..." Jessie mumbled, utterly shocked

Charizard landed back down onto the ground next to its trainer: a red-robed figure with black hair, and bandages over their eyes. They weren't too far away from the inn where Kalos resided - Team Rocket had been up to no good; they were going to try and attempt to steal the Pokemon while everyone slept.

"Enough games Team Rocket, I know you've had contact with the Gates of Purgatory"

"So what if we have?" Jessie retorted. "It's not like we're going to tell you what was said"

"Trust me, I have no use for you, so if you don't tell me what I need, then Charizard will burn you until there's nothing but ashes left"

The mega-evolved Charizard shot a column of flames mixed with electricity into the air as a warning, which intimidated Team Rocket - they had been burnt by hot flames before, but nothing looked as a hot as that Charizard's attack, not to mention the fact that it was backed up by electricity.

"Alright, fine" Jessie gave in. "Their head wanted us to help them with their plan. It has something to do with breaking the twerpette's heart so that they can form the bonds of something"

"The bonds of armor!" Meowth said

"No, I believe it was amour, like love" James corrected the talking Pokemon. "I didn't know the twerp found himself love. Now I understand the plan that they explained"

"I hope we don't cross paths again" Jason said. "If you join the Gates of Purgatory, there'll be no mercy"

**February 7th / Day 3**

"Let's never talk about that again" Calem said, as he entered the hallway after having been chosen for the day's mini-game

"You can say that again" Miette agreed. "I'm not even on the team and I feel let down"

"I can't lie though, you do have a strange weakness" Gary said

"I said that we don't talk about it" Calem grumbled

"Before we begin today's one-on-one battles, let's review the results" Mr. Simmons said. "Tied for first place is Johto, Kalos, and Alola, at nineteen points. Hoenn is second with eighteen, Unova in third with seventeen, Sinnoh at fourteen, and Kanto as twelve"

"At least we're still in first" Clemont said

"Which means we have to win this battle if we want to stay ahead" Zack pointed out

"Going first will be Leo of Kanto against Sawyer of Kalos!"

"Looks like I'll be battling today" Sawyer closed his notebook with one hand and put into his pocket

"You sure you'll be fine battling?" Serena asked. "After all, Leo is suppose to be one of the best trainers in the world"

"Come on, don't underestimate him, Serena" Calem said. "After all, he's got a secret weapon"

"A secret weapon? Cool!" Ash said. "What is it?"

"It wouldn't be much of a secret if I told you" Sawyer chuckled nervously. "But don't worry, I'm sure I'll have to use it when fighting an opponent as powerful as this"

Sawyer and Leo, who looked bored, met down on the battlefield, where the referee stated the rules of their battle; Sceptile and another unfamiliar Pokemon came out from Leo's Pokeball.

"_Obstagoon, the Blocking Pokemon. Its voice is staggering in volume; it has a tendency to take on a threatening posture and shout—this move is known as Obstruct"_

"Interesting. That's another Pokemon from Galar" Professor Sycamore said

"I wonder why Leo and Victor have Galarian Pokemon" Serena tried to figure out the reason, but no ideas came to her head

"Let the match begin!" the ref declared

"Alright Sceptile, let's show them what we can do from the start" Sawyer made a fist around the small orb attached to his notebook; beams of light connected between Sceptile and the orb, causing a Mega Evolution

"Looks like Sawyer is going for Mega Evolution right off the start" Lance, Kanto's champion and one of today's commentators along with Agatha, said

"Mega Sceptile! So is that his secret weapon?" Ash said

"Kind of strange that he would use it right off the bat, especially after not wanting to tell us" Gary added

"It's not" Calem informed, his face going serious

"I wonder what it could be then" Shauna said

Sawyer put his notebook away and smiled confidently. "Sceptile, use Nature Roar!"

"Stop that" Leo simply said

Green particles gathered in the air around both Pokemon, who then proceeded to fire the same attack at each other; they clashed in the center, cancelling out almost instantly and setting off an explosion.

"He copied Sawyer's move" Aria noticed

"The normal-type doesn't have it's own basic roar attack, which means he can use the opponent's" Anna explained

"Use Leaf Blade Dance!" Sawyer commanded

"Obstagoon, use White Slash" Leo countered

Mega Sceptile dashed forward rapidly, it's arm-blades growing bright green; Obstagoon lunged, landing a large slash to Sceptile before it could be hit.

"Demeter's Fist!" Sawyer continued

Obstagoon was hit by a large uppercut from Sceptile, whose fist was glowing green; roots then rose up from the ground, wrapping around the Galarian Pokemon mid air, and tossing him against the wall behind Leo.

"It seems the grass-type master has the early advantage on the normal-type master" Agatha, one of Kanto's elite four, said

"Leo's a man of many surprises" Lance assured

"Use Rapid Talons!" Leo resumed the fight

"Stop that with Leaf Blade!" Sawyer responded

The two Pokemon charged at each other, but Obstagoon jumped over Sceptile's slash and hit him once with each of his feet, which had a white outline to them; Mega Sceptile quickly jolted around and launched a pointblank Nature Roar that hit Obstagoon, who was carried with the attack and crashed into the wall again as an explosion was set off.

"It seems I underestimated you" Leo smiled. "Obstagoon, Change Mode: White Drive!"

In an instant, the smoke cleared as a white aura exploded out of Obstagoon, as his features began to change - his claws became sharper and turned white, and a chest plate was conjured around his chest.

"Use Frenzy Plant!" Sawyer said

Sceptile smashed both of its fists into the ground, summoning massive vines that shot out of the ground, traveling towards White Drive Obstagoon.

"Secret Art: Omega Slash!" Leo timed his counter

Obstagoon slashed the air in front of him, and the vines were slashed in half, along with Sceptile who was hit by the seemingly invisible attack; the Galarian Pokemon dashed forward and uppercutted Mega Sceptile into the air, before firing a Nature Roar that carried Sceptile all the way up to the roof of the barrier, over a hundred feet in the air, where it exploded.

Everyone watched as Sceptile fell from the roof of the barrier all the way to the ground, where it crashed in front of Sawyer and ignited a small dust explosion.

"You should give up unless you want your Pokemon to get seriously hurt" Leo suggested, grinning

"If there's one thing I've learned, it's to not give up" Sawyer said, as Mega Sceptile stood up. "We're going to give you everything we have all the way until the end"

"Then show me what you can do" Leo requested

"Alright Sceptile, it's time to use our secret weapon" Sawyer said, and the Pokemon nodded. "Change Mode: Razor Leaf!"

A silver glow encased Sceptile as its sharp features transformed into pure metal, along with arm gauntlets and a chest plate made of steel; the crowd exploded into cheers at the mixed-elemental form, or in other words, sixth stage evolution.

"Secret Art: Jungle Construction!" Sawyer exclaimed

Mega Sceptile smashed its fist into the ground, summoning a mixed frenzy of metal poles and vines that shot out of the ground; Obstagoon attempted to dodge them, but was trapped by vines, and then forced to slam against a pole.

"Iron Nature Roar!" Sawyer pressured

"Secret Art: Vicinity Neutralize!" Leo quickly said

A shockwave shot out of Obstagoon, and the summoned poles and vines retreated back into the ground, and Sceptile's roar attack disintegrated into particles; Obstagoon charged forward, hitting Mega Sceptile with hard punch to the gut.

"Use Dragon Claw!"

Sceptile activated the attack and hit Obstagoon, sending a few feet away; white bands of energy than rose from the ground and chained Sceptile to the ground, keeping him in place as Obstagoon lunged and landed a sickening punch to the face before returning back to his side of the battlefield.

"White Pulse!" Leo commanded

"Leaf Blade Dance!" Sawyer countered

Obstagoon shot forward a ball of white energy; Sceptile dashed forward, slashing through the attack, and then slashing again against Obstagoon, who quickly countered with a kick to the chest that staggered Sceptile.

"Secret Art: Jungle Smash!" Sawyer said

A large tree root shot out of the ground beneath Obstagoon, before arching down and smashing the Pokemon, against the ground on the other side of the battlefield, several feet beneath the floor.

"Heaven's Fist!" Leo said

"Demeter's Fist, one more time!" Sawyer replied

Obstagoon jumped out of the hole in the ground, which was then repaired automatically; both Pokemon clashed their fists in the center of the battlefield, sending a shockwave out that slightly shattered the protective barrier around the audience.

"Knight's Blade!" Leo then said

"Razor Sword!"

One of Obstagoon's hands turned into a sharp sword blade; Sceptile's, now metal, arm-blade inverted outwards, pointing forward instead; the two Pokemon dashed around the battlefield, almost too fast for the eye to see, exchanging strikes.

"I almost can't keep up" Clemont adjusted his glasses

"They're pretty fast" Ash said. "Though I didn't expect that to be Sawyer's secret weapon"

"He's ate some of Bisharp's metal from a Secret Art and obtained the dual-elemental form" Calem explained

Mega Sceptile prevailed, clubbing Obstagoon with a hard slash that caused the Pokemon to stagger; the grass-dragon-and-steel-type Pokemon turned around and fired a frenzy of leaves that exploded against Obstagoon and sent him flying.

"We'll finish this with our ultimate move now" Sawyer announced. "Sacred Art: Seal of God!"

A small tornado blitzed around Sceptile as the ground began to shake heavily.

"You've got no time to use that" Leo said. "Sacred Art: Soul Punisher!"

Obstagoon raised one of its hands into the air, and a small ball of rainbow sparkles solidified above it; the Galarian Pokemon made a fist around it, lunging forward and hitting Sceptile midway through charging its move.

For a moment, nothing happened, until Sceptile spat out blood from the impact; its eyes faded to white as sparkles escaped its mouth; Obstagoon opened up its hand, which ignited a large explosion that caused Sceptile to go flying against the barrier next to Sawyer, like a fly that had been swatted out of the air.

"This battle's over" Leo raised his hand. "If he doesn't get treatment soon, he could die"

"Sceptile is unable to battle, Obstagoon is the winner! That means Leo of Kanto is the victor, earning them five points!" the ref declared, and the crowd cheered

"Don't you think he went too far?" Ash said

"He'll pay the price for using it" Anna replied

"There's a price?"

"The price for using Sacred Arts: one day of your lifespan" Anna revealed. "It's not much in the long run, but they can add up"

"So Sawyer was ready to lay down one day of his life just to win" Tierno said

"I'm more concerned about how he learned to use it" Anna said. "Sacred Arts can easily kill another Pokemon if the user doesn't know how to limit its power"

**Cafeteria **

"Well, look who I happened to run into" Drax said as he finished his bagel

"Drax" Jason replied

"I'm surprised you aren't using one of your staffs as a walking stick" Drax joked

"I can still see in different ways" Jason said

"You remind me of this dude in a comic I once read" Drax attempted to recall. "Matt something"

The fire-type master sat down at Drax's table across from him. "You aren't one of the seven Gates of Purgatory, but you're working with them"

Drax chuckled. "I don't work with them... I lead them"

"Lead?"

Drax placed his left arm, which he had been hiding up until now, onto the table - it was completely made of metal. "I'm X. Calem's dead, but I figured I would take up his work for my own personal benefits"

"What are you doing with Johto then?" Jason asked

"Oh, we'll win, but that's not what I'm after" Drax answered. "This tournament is just for fun, it's the Bonds of Amour that I'm interested in"

"I figured as much, though I don't understand what your reasoning is"

"I'm sure we both know about that top-secret, dangerous, unpredictable southern continent" Drax said. "I only want to harness the power of bonds for defensive purpose. It'll be a great benefit to all of us"

"You want the power of the bonds in case of war" Jason guessed

"Correct" Drax nodded. "I heard rumors that the emperor's been making threats, and behind the scenes with the eight region council, tensions are rising"

"Somehow I don't believe you"

"Well, of course there's a catch" Drax admitted. "Once I harness the bonds, and I will, then I'll be the emperor of all eight regions, no, the entire world"

"There it is" Jason stood up from the table. "You'll have to defeat Ash to get your goal"

"The boy with the Greninja who was the same power as mine?" Drax asked. "Please, he'll be nothing more than a nuisance. He hasn't even mastered Bond Phenomenon, let alone has the ability to activate it at will. He's got no chance against me"

"But he's also activated the Sea King form once before" Jason informed

"Ah, the legendary water-type transformation. It's still a power beneath Bond Phenomenon, but I suppose that'll be a fun fight"

"He'll be stronger when the time comes," Jason assured as he walked away, "and he'll beat you"


End file.
